iATTLE  LIN 


K.4 


/'You  are  an  American,  I  hear,"  said  the  general, 
addressing  Leon  in  excellent  English. 

(Page   152.)     Frontispiece. 


WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE 
BATTLE  LINE 


BY 

ROSS  KAY 

Author  of  "The  Air  Scout,"  "The  Search  for  the  Spy," 
"Dodging  the  North  Sea  Mines,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

CLARE  ANGELL 


PUBLISHERS 

BARSE    &.   CO. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


Copyright,  1915 

By 
BARSE  &.  CO. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAGE 

I    A  START  FOR  THE  FRONT 11 

II    A  CLOSE  CALL 19 

III  AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING 26 

IV  A  NEW  ALLY 35 

V    A  STRANGE  CONVEYANCE 43 

VI  AN  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  UHLANS     .     .     50 

VII    A  SURPRISE 57 

VIII    NEW  FRIENDS        65 

IX    A  RIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT 74 

X    A  NEW  CONVEYANCE 84 

XI    A  BOLD  PLAN 94 

XII    AN  AMBUSH 102 

XIII  A  FRESH  START  FOR  THE  FRONT    .     .     .  Ill 

XIV  THROUGH  THE  AIR 121 

XV  THE  ARRIVAL  AT  THE  MARNE    ....  133 

XVI    UNDER  SUSPICION        144 

XVII    AT  HEADQUARTERS 154 

XVIII    IN  THE  TRENCHES 164 

XIX    IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES 175 

XX  AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  .                                .  184 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

XXI  THE  INVADERS  ATTACK    .     .     .     .     .     .  195 

XXII  THE  CHARGE (.     ...  206 

XXIII  JACQUES'  SCHEME 217 

XXIV  A  SUCCESSFUL  RUSE  .......  228 

XXV  CONCLUSION  -.;     .    ...     .     .     .  239 


WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE 
BATTLE  LINE 

CHAPTER  I 

A  START  FOR  THE  FRONT 

'*"T%  /T^ arm  an(^  snou^er  feei  Just as  fit as 

\/ 1     they  ever  did. ' ' 

jL  *  JL  '  *  You  are  a  very  lucky  young  man. 
If  that  bullet  had  gone  only  a  little  farther  to  the 
right  you  would  not  be  dancing  around  in  this 
fashion." 

Leon  Platt  was  talking  to  a  Red  Cross  nurse. 
He  was  a  young  American,  only  seventeen  years 
of  age.  Traveling  in  Belgium  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  great  war  in  1914,  he  had  been  caught  between 
the  battle  lines.  On  his  way  from  Liege  to  Brus- 
sels he  had  chanced  to  meet  a  young  French  avia- 
tor, Jacques  Dineau,  by  name.  These  two  boys 
had  formed  a  warm  friendship  earlier  in  the  sum- 
mer and  it  was  a  great  surprise  to  both  when  they 
met  again  so  unexpectedly  in  Belgium. 

The  young  American  had  already  had  some 

thoughts  of  enlisting  in  the  army  of  France.    His 

11 


12    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

ancestors  had  been  French,  so  he  was  naturally 
drawn  to  that  country  rather  than  to  any  other. 
Jacques  exerted  all  his  influence  to  persuade  his 
friend  to  join  the  French  army  and  Leon  needed 
but  little  persuading.  He  readily  consented  to 
the  pleadings  of  the  young  French  airman  and 
soon  found  himself  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the 
Army  of  the  Republic. 

Leon  had  been  assigned  to  duty  as  an  air  scout 
in  conjunction  with  his  friend  Jacques.  The 
young  Frenchman  drove  the  aeroplane  while  Leon 
acted  as  scout.  Many  thrilling  experiences  they 
passed  through  together,  and  much  valuable  in- 
formation had  they  acquired  for  their  troops. 

They  had  watched  the  great  army  of  the  Kaiser 
roll  on  through  Belgium  in  its  mad  drive  for 
Paris.  Oftentimes  they  had  come  in  closer  con- 
tact with  this  army  than  they  desired.  Slowly 
they  had  retreated  with  the  allied  forces,  as  yet 
unprepared  to  withstand  the  rush  of  the  Ger- 
mans; they  had  fallen  back  stubbornly,  however, 
fighting  every  inch  of  the  way. 

Finally  had  come  the  great  battle  at  Charleroi, 
and  Mons.  Leon  and  Jacques  had  been  in  the 
trenches  there  and  had  their  first  experience  on 
the  battle  line.  Needless  to  say,  they  acquitted 
themselves  with  honor,  and  in  a  daring  rescue  of 
a  French  flag  Leon  had  been  wounded  in  the  shoul- 
der. He  had  been  taken  to  a  hospital  in  Mons 


A  START  FOR  THE  FRONT  13 

and  cared  for  there.  There  it  was  that  the  con- 
versation recorded  at  the  beginning  of  this  story 
took  place. 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "it  is  as  good  as  new." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  now?"  inquired  the 
nurse. 

*  *  Such  a  question  to  ask  1  I'm  going  to  join  my 
regiment,  of  course." 

"Do  you  know  where  it  is?" 

"No,  I  don't." 

"Do  you  know  that  the  whole  allied  army  has 
been  driven  back  almost  to  the  gates  of  Paris?" 

"No,  I  didn't  know  that,"  replied  Leon. 

"Well,  it's  so,  just  the  same,"  said  the  nurse. 
"Between  you  and  your  regiment  are  thousands 
and  thousands  of  German  soldiers.  I  don't  see 
how  you  expect  to  make  your  way  through  them. 
There  isn't  one  chance  in  a  hundred  that  you  will 
succeed. ' ' 

' '  How  do  you  know  all  these  things  ? ' '  demanded 
Leon. 

"  I  'm  telling  you  the  reports  we  have  received. ' ' 

"Just  the  same,  I'm  going  to  make  a  try  for 
it." 

"Do  you  suppose  you  can  even  get  out  of  this 
city?" 

"Why  not?" 

"The  Germans  are  in  control  here  and  do  you 
think  they  are  going  to  allow  any  man  to  leave 


14    WITH  JOFFKE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

who  wants  to  help  the  very  people  they  are  fight- 
ing?" 

"You  mean  there  are  German  soldiers  here  in 
this  town!" 

"  I  believe  so.  Not  many  of  them,  I  hear,  but 
still  there  are  no  French  or  English  troops  at  all." 

"It'll  be  hard  work,  all  right,"  said  Leon 
thoughtfully.  "Still  I  think  it  can  be  done  and 
you  may  be  sure  I  shall  make  an  attempt." 

"Good  luck  to  you,"  said  the  nurse.  "You'll 
need  good  luck,  too.  When  do  you  start?" 

'  *  What  time  is  it  now  ? ' ' 

"Half  past  four,"  replied  the  nurse,  consult- 
ing her  watch. 

"I  am  discharged  from  the  hospital,  am  I  not?" 
asked  Leon. 

"Absolutely." 

"All  right,  then;  I  shall  start  as  soon  as  it  is 
dark." 

"Very  well.  What  few  possessions  you  have 
are  in  the  office.  Before  you  leave  come  there  and 
you  may  have  them,  and  I  will  also  try  to  secure 
a  little  food  for  you." 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  said  Leon  warmly. 
"I'll  be  there  in  about  half  an  hour." 

The  nurse  left  him  to  go  on  with  her  work  of 
caring  for  the  wounded.  The  hospital  was 
crammed  to  its  capacity  with  the  wounded  of  all 
sides.  Germans  lay  in  cots  alongside  French- 


A  START  FOR  THE  FRONT  15 

men;  Irish,  English,  and  Belgians  were  also  in 
evidence,  Scotchmen  were  among  the  sufferers, 
while  now  and  then  a  black  Turco  appeared, 
stricken  in  one  way  or  another. 

The  hospital  was  a  busy  place,  and  a  sad  place, 
as  well.  Here  the  results  of  the  great  game  of 
war  were  much  in  evidence.  Most  of  the  wounded 
were  young  men  in  the  prime  of  life  and  health, 
and  many  would  leave  the  place  mutilated  for  life. 
Here  a  man  had  lost  a  leg;  there  a  man  had  had 
an  arm  shot  away.  Sometimes  it  was  found 
necessary  to  amputate  a  limb  to  save  the  life  of 
a  sufferer.  Sometimes  nothing  would  avail  and 
the  occupant  of  a  cot  would  be  carried  out,  never 
to  return. 

His  place  was  immediately  filled,  however,  and 
soon  the  other  men  became  hardened  to  these  fre- 
quent scenes  and  paid  but  scant  attention  to  them. 
Leon  had  noticed  one  thing,  however.  No  mat- 
ter how  badly  a  man  was  wounded  or  how  much 
he  suffered,  he  always  wanted  to  get  out  and  fight 
again.  Every  man  looked  forward  eagerly  to  the 
day  when  once  more  he  could  rejoin  his  colors. 

Leon  himself  was  no  exception  to  this  rule,  and 
as  he  was  only  human,  he  was  naturally  impa- 
tient to  be  in  action  again.  He  sat  on  the  step 
outside  the  hospital  and  pondered  over  in  his 
mind  the  best  method  of  accomplishing  his  pur- 
pose. 


16    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

So  wrapped  up  in  his  thoughts  was  he  that  he 
failed  to  notice  a  man  approaching  on  crutches. 

"What  are  yez  thinkin'  about,  me  bye!" 

Leon  looked  up  startled  by  the  unexpected 
question. 

"Hello,  Pat,"  he  said.  "I  didn't  see  you  com- 
ing." 

"Yez  should  be  able  to  hear  me  thin.  These 
wooden  legs  Oi  hov  are  not  viry  quiet.  Oi  nivver 
saw  any  one  so  dape  in  thought  as  youse,  Oi  must 
say." 

' '  I  was  thinking  of  some  way  to  get  back  to  my 
regiment,"  said  Leon.  "I  have  been  discharged 
from  the  hospital  and  I  leave  to-night." 

Pat  was  an  Irishman  with  whom  Leon  had  be- 
come acquainted  soon  after  he  had  joined  the 
allied  army.  They  had  both  been  wounded  at  the 
same  time  and  had  occupied  adjoining  cots  in 
the  hospital.  As  the  big  Irishman  heard  Leon 
speak,  his  eyes  flashed. 

"If  Oi  could  only  be  wid  ye,"  he  exclaimed, 
eagerly.  "Wait  a  few  days  and  take  me  along." 

"I  wish  you  could  go  with  me,"  said  Leon,  "but 
I  can't  wait.  I  can't  stay  here  very  well  and  I 
am  anxious  to  be  back." 

"Oi  don't  blame  ye.  Oi'll  be  sthartin'  meself 
purty  soon." 

"Do  you  think  I  can  make  it?"  inquired  Leon. 

"Why  can't  yez  I"  demanded  Pat.    "It'll  not 


A  START  FOE  THE  FRONT  17 

be  an  aisy  job,  but  Oi  know  Oi  could  do  it,  so  why 
can't  youse  do  it,  too?" 

"I  can  do  it,  of  course,"  exclaimed  Leon, 
springing  to  his  feet.  "It's  just  as  you  say,  Pat, 
it'll  be  hard  but  it  can  be  done  all  right.  Noth- 
ing is  impossible  if  you  only  have  the  right  spirit, 
and  that's  what  you've  given  me." 

1  'Do  you  know  where  your  rigiment  isT" 

"Nb>  but  I'll  find  it  somewhere." 

"Thot's  the  way  t'  talk!"  cried  Pat,  trying  to 
slap  Leon  on  the  back,  and  almost  losing  his  bal- 
ance as  a  consequence. 

"I'm  going  to  get  ready  now,"  said  Leon. 
"Good-by,  Pat." 

"Good-by,  and  good  luck,"  said  Pat  heartily. 
"Take  care  o'  yerself  an'  Oi  hope  t'  see  yez  soon 
agin. ' ' 

"I  certainly  hope  so,  too,"  exclaimed  Leon,  as 
he  disappeared  inside  the  hospital. 

He  made  his  way  to  the  office  and  there  found 
the  nurse  waiting  for  him,  as  she  had  promised. 
She  had  his  blanket  and  automatic  revolver — all 
the  things  that  had  been  rescued  for  him.  In  ad- 
dition, she  had  an  extra  pair  of  socks,  a  very  im- 
portant item  of  clothing.  When  a  man  walks 
many  miles  a  day  his  feet  must  be  taken  care  of 
if  he  is  to  stand  up  under  the  strain. 

This  was  all  the  clothing  he  possessed,  aside 
from  his  uniform,  which  he  wore.  He  had  but 


18    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

little  money  and  his  undertaking  seemed  almost 
a  hopeless  one  at  the  start.  His  friend,  the  nurse, 
had  provided  him  with  a  parcel  containing  food, 
however,  and  consequently  he  was  assured  of  at 
least  one  or  two  meals. 

Night  had  now  fallen.  Leon  expressed  his 
thanks  to  his  benefactor  and  prepared  to  leave. 
He  swung  his  blanket  over  his  shoulder.  Boiled 
inside  were  his  extra  socks  and  his  food.  His 
revolver  he  placed  in  his  hip  pocket,  and  he  was 
ready  to  set  out. 

He  extended  his  hand  to  the  nurse,  thanked  her 
once  more,  and  turned  to  go. 

"Good  luck,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice  as  Leon 
stepped  out  of  the  door  and  vanished  into  the 
night. 


CHAPTER  n 

A   CLOSE   CALL 

IT  was  with  mingled  feelings  that  the  young 
American  departed  on  his  perilous  journey. 
He  was  aware  more  fully  every  minute  what 
a  difficult  task  he  had  undertaken,  and  as  he  made 
his  way  down  the  dark  and  deserted  street  the 
realization  of  the  situation  he  was  in  came  to  him 
with  full  force. 

He  thought  of  his  home  in  America  and  won- 
dered what  his  family  were  doing  now.  When 
he  had  enlisted  they  had  not  known  of  his  action. 
He  wrote  them,  of  course,  but  so  far  he  had  re- 
ceived no  reply.  Neither  had  he  heard  from  his 
twin  brother,  Earl.  The  two  boys  had  gone 
abroad  together  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer, 
but  had  separated.  Earl  had  remained  in  Eng- 
land to  visit  friends,  while  Leon  had  crossed  to 
France  to  stay  for  a  time  with  an  aunt  and  uncle 
in  Paris. 

Leon  had  had  no  news  of  Earl  since  the  war 
broke  out  and  he  wondered  what  he  now  was  doing 
or  thinking.  The  two  boys  were  exceedingly  fond 
of  each  other  and  Leon  naturally  was  worried 
about  his  brother.  As  he  thought  of  all  these 

19 


20    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

things  a  wave  of  homesickness  swept  over  him, 
and  for  a  moment  he  longed  for  home. 

This  feeling  passed  as  quickly  as  it  came,  how- 
ever, and  the  young  soldier  chided  himself  for 
having  yielded  to  the  impulse.  Once  more  he 
was  a  soldier  of  France,  enthusiastic  and  eager  to 
join  his  regiment  on  the  battle  front.  Immedi- 
ately he  became  alert  and  sensitive  to  his  sur- 
roundings. 

Keeping  as  close  as  possible  to  the  buildings  he 
made  his  way  toward  the  south  and  the  open 
country.  Few  lights  appeared  in  the  houses  and 
thus  far  he  had  seen  no  one  on  the  streets.  He 
was  wide  awake  to  every  possibility,  however,  and 
was  careful  that  no  one  should  take  him  by  sur- 
prise. Every  few  seconds  he  felt  for  his  auto- 
matic revolver  and  the  bulge  in  his  hip  pocket 
made  him  more  comfortable  every  time  he  assured 
himself  of  its  presence. 

There  was  no  moon  and  practically  no  lights  in 
the  town.  Everything  was  covered  with  the  blan- 
ket of  darkness  so  that  it  would  have  been  a  hard 
task  to  see  any  one  approaching  unless  he  was 
very  close  by. 

Suddenly  Leon  stopped. 

He  thought  he  heard  footsteps  down  the  street, 
and  instinctively  he  drew  back  into  the  shadow  of 
an  alley.  He  listened  carefully  and  was  now  posi- 
tive that  he  had  been  correct.  Whether  it  was  a 


A  CLOSE  CALL  21 

friend  or  foe  he  could  not  tell  but  it  was  prob- 
ably a  foe.  No  Frenchman  would  be  out  at  night 
in  a  town  which  the  Germans  had  taken. 

Closer  and  closer  came  the  foot  beats,  while  in 
the  alley  Leon  tried  to  flatten  himself  against  the 
brick  wall  of  a  building.  A  second  more  and  the 
man  would  come  into  view. 

Leon  peered  intently  into  the  night,  and  as  he 
looked  a  German  helmet  became  outlined  to  his 
view  against  the  sky.  A  gun  to  which  was  affixed 
a  long  bayonet  was  over  the  German's  shoulder 
and  the  tramp  of  his  heavy  shoes  echoed  through 
the  empty  street. 

Directly  in  front  of  Leon  the  man  stopped. 
Resting  his  rifle  on  the  ground  he  stood  still  and 
looked  all  about  him  in  a  careless  fashion,  appar- 
ently sure  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear. 

Leon  watched  him  as  if  spellbound.  He  had  no 
desire  for  an  encounter  just  now,  before  he  had 
put  much  more  than  a  mile  between  himself  and 
the  hospital.  He  scarcely  dared  to  breathe,  so 
fearful  was  he  that  he  would  be  discovered. 

He  pressed  closer  to  the  wall  in  an  effort  to 
obliterate  himself  from  sight.  As  he  did  so  he 
dislodged  a  piece  of  loose  mortar  which  fell  to  the 
ground  with  a  rattle. 

Immediately  the  German  wheeled  like  a  flash 
in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  held  his  gun 
ready  for  instant  use. 


22    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

A  challenge  in  the  German  language  broke  the 
silence  of  the  night. 

Leon  made  no  reply,  except  stealthily  to  draw 
his  revolver  and  shrink  farther  into  the  shadow. 
He  hoped  the  German  would  pass  on,  but  such  was 
not  to  be  the  case. 

The  challenge  was  repeated  and  the  German 
began  to  walk  slowly  in  Leon's  direction.  He  was 
evidently  curious  and  determined  to  discover  the 
cause  of  the  fallen  mortar.  Even  in  the  tight 
place  in  which  the  young  American  found  him- 
self he  could  not  help  thinking  how  brave  and  yet 
how  foolhardy  his  enemy  was. 

Seeing  that  there  was  no  chance  of  the  German 
going  away  without  investigating,  Leon  did  the 
only  thing  he  could  do  under  the  circumstances. 

Pointing  his  revolver  at  the  dark  figure  of  the 
approaching  German,  he  fired. 

The  report  rang  out  in  the  still  night  air,  and 
without  waiting  to  discover  the  effect  of  his  bullet 
Leon  turned  and  ran.  He  desired  to  be  out  of 
trouble  of  any  sort  just  now,  especially  any  that 
might  interfere  with  his  journey  southward. 

At  top  speed  he  ran  down  the  street,  rushing 
blindly  ahead  with  little  thought  of  whither  he 
was  bound. 

Scarcely  had  he  gone  thirty  yards  when  a  rifle 
shot  rang  out  behind  him  and  a  bullet  sang  past 
his  ears.  Evidently  his  revolver  shot  had  not 


A  CLOSE  CALL  23 

done  its  work.  He  heard  a  shout  of  anger  and 
another  bullet  also  whizzed  over  his  head. 

He  did  not  slacken  his  pace,  however,  but  in- 
creasing his  speed  he  kept  on  his  way.  He  knew 
the  German  stood  small  chance  of  hitting  him 
now,  and  he  smiled  at  the  thought  of  his  being 
able  to  catch  him.  Unless  he  ran  into  more  dan- 
ger ahead,  Leon  decided  that  he  was  almost  out 
of  trouble,  at  least  for  the  present. 

Hardly  had  this  thought  passed  through  his 
mind  when  a  figure  sprang  from  behind  a  near-by 
tree  and  tried  to  seize  him  as  he  sped  along.  This 
time  it  was  Leon's  turn  to  be  taken  by  surprise. 
He  was  running  swiftly,  however,  and  he  was  not 
a  light  weight  by  any  means.  His  assailant  was 
thrown  aside  by  the  shock  of  the  contact  and 
failed  to  hold  his  grip  on  the  fleeing  young  Ameri- 
can. 

Leon  wheeled  and  fired  three  shots  from  his 
automatic  at  the  man  who  was  trying  to  oppose 
his  progress.  Then  he  turned  and  once  more  sped 
on  down  the  street. 

This  second  man  fired  no  shots  at  Leon,  how- 
ever. Whether  it  was  because  he  had  no  gun  or 
because  his  own  shots  had  taken  effect,  Leon  did 
not  stop  to  consider.  He  was  in  a  bad  predica- 
ment which  was  evidently  getting  worse.  There 
was  no  telling  how  many  more  Germans  he  might 
meet  before  he  got  out  of  town  and  he  decided 


that  the  open  street  was  not  a  desirable  place  for 
him  to  be  in.  Slackening  his  pace  gradually,  he 
suddenly  darted  to  one  side  and  made  his  way 
toward  the  rear  of  a  neighboring  house.  That  he 
evidently  was  approaching  the  outskirts  of  the 
town  was  apparent  from  the  fact  that  the  houses 
here  were  somewhat  scattered  and  were  farther 
apart. 

He  crouched  low  and  remained  within  the 
shadows  as  much  as  he  was  able.  The  house  evi- 
dently was  deserted  for  no  lights  appeared  in  the 
windows.  Leon,  however,  was  not  planning  to 
take  many  chances.  He  came  to  the  rear  of  the 
house  and  there  discovered  several  outbuildings 
ahead  of  him,  among  which  he  recognized  a  barn 
and  toolhouse.  The  place  was  evidently  a  farm. 

Leon  decided  that  his  best  plan  would  be  to 
hide  for  an  hour  or  so  in  the  shelter  of  the  barn. 
By  that  time  he  believed  he  would  be  free  from 
pursuit  at  the  hands  of  his  former  assailants. 
He  would  eat  some  of  his  scanty  store  of  food 
and  then  strike  out  across  the  country.  He  re- 
alized that  his  traveling  would  have  to  be  done 
mostly  at  night  when  the  risk  of  detection  would 
not  be  as  great  as  in  the  daytime. 

"With  this  purpose  in  mind  he  started  to  run 
across  the  open  space  of  ground  between  the  house 
and  the  barn.  Once  behind  the  barn  he  felt  he 
would  be  comparatively  safe. 


.    A  CLOSE  CALL  25 

At  top  speed  lie  made  his  way  across  the  open 
space.  A  moment  later  he  reached  the  barn  and 
continued  on  to  its  rear.  Beaching  the  corner  of 
the  building  he  dodged  quickly  around,  only  to 
run  headforemost  into  a  man  approaching  from 
the  opposite  direction. 


CHAPTER  HI 

AN   UNEXPECTED   MEETING 

THE  shock  of  the  collision  was  enough  to 
send  the  man  sprawling.  Leon  was  abso- 
lutely taken  by  surprise,  but  he  had  pres- 
ence of  mind  enough  to  draw  his  revolver  and 
cover  the  prostrate  figure  on  the  ground  at  his 
feet. 

"Surrender!"  cried  Leon,  out  of  breath  and 
forgetting  that  his  adversary  probably  under- 
stood no  English. 

The  man  on  the  ground  had  uttered  a  smothered 
exclamation  of  surprise  when  they  collided,  but 
otherwise  had  made  no  sound. 

"Get  up!  Throw  up  your  hands!"  ordered 
Leon  in  a  sharp  tone. 

The  man  did  not  move. 

"Get  up  or  I'll  blow  you  up,"  Leon  exclaimed, 
still  unmindful  that  the  man  undoubtedly  did  not 
understand  a  word  he  was  saying. 

Leon  advanced  to  the  place  where  the  man  was 
lying  and  gave  him  a  sharp  kick  squarely  in  the 
ribs. 

"I'll  give  you  one  last  chance!"  he  exclaimed. 

26 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING          27 

"Get  on  your  feet  and  surrender,  or  I'll  not  wait 
for  you  any  longer." 

"Please  don't  do  that,  Leon.    I  will  get  up." 

So  great  was  Leon's  surprise  at  hearing  him- 
self addressed  in  this  fashion,  that  he  almost 
dropped  his  revolver. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  demanded,  thunderstruck. 

"Don't  you  know  me?"  exclaimed  the  man  still 
lying  quietly  on  the  ground.  ' '  I  think  you  should 
apologize  after  the  way  you  knocked  me  down." 

A  suspicion  of  who  this  man  was  began  to  dawn 
on  Leon.  And  yet  he  thought  his  surmise  could 
not  possibly  be  correct.  At  the  same  time  the 
voice  sounded  strangely  familiar. 

"Don't  you  know  me  yet?"  inquired  the  man, 
slowly  rising  to  his  feet. 

"Jacques!"  cried  Leon  suddenly. 

"It  is  I,"  replied  Jacques,  for  it  was  he  beyond 
any  doubt. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  exclaimed  Leon 
delightedly. 

"What  are  you  doing  here,  I  should  like  to 
know?"  said  Jacques.  "You  ought  to  be  in  the 
hospital  and  yet  here  you  are  running  over  the 
country,  knocking  your  best  friends  down  and 
threatening  to  blow  their  heads  off." 

The  two  boys  almost  hugged  each  other,  they 
were  so  happy  to  be  together  again.  For  the  last 
few  weeks  they  had  passed  through  numberless 


28    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

dangers  together  and  they  had  come  to  feel  as  if 
they  were  almost  necessary  to  each  other. 
Jacques  Dineau,  the  young  French  airman,  had 
gained  a  very  warm  spot  in  the  heart  of  the 
young  American  who  had  shared  his  fortunes  so 
closely. 

All  through  the  first  Belgian  campaign  they 
were  together  constantly  and  when  Leon  had  been 
wounded,  one  of  his  chief  causes  of  annoyance  was 
that  he  had  become  separated  from  his  comrade. 
And  here  he  was  again,  suddenly  appearing  al- 
most as  if  he  had  sprung  out  of  the  earth. 

"Where  is  our  regiment?"  demanded  Leon. 

* '  I  cannot  tell  you,  though  I  wish  I  could. ' ' 

"Why  aren't  you  with  it?" 

"It's  a  long  story,  Leon.  After  the  battle  of 
Mons  I  became  separated  from  the  rest  of  our 
troops.  I  was  nearly  captured  many  times  and  it 
was  only  by  the  best  of  luck  that  I  escaped.  For 
days  I  hid  in  barns  and  vacant  houses,  eating 
whatever  I  could  lay  my  hands  on.  Then  the 
Germans  went  south  and  I  dared  to  venture  forth 
once  again.  I  had  known  that  you  were  taken  to 
the  hospital  in  Mons  when  you  were  wounded,  so 
I  was  on  my  way  there  to  obtain  news  of  you  if 
possible.  If  you  had  blown  my  head  off  I  should 
never  have  seen  you  again,  do  you  know  that ! ' ' 

"Thank  heaven,  I  didn't!"  exclaimed  Leon 
earnestly. 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING          29 

"What  were  those  shots  I  heard  a  few  moments 
ago?" 

"They  were  fired  at  me,"  said  Leon,  and  he 
quickly  related  his  recent  experiences  to  Jacques. 

"If  the  Germans  are  after  you  we  must  be  more 
careful,"  said  the  young  Frenchman,  lowering  his 
voice. 

The  two  boys  cautiously  withdrew  to  a  position 
behind  a  huge  haystack  and  there  related  to  each 
other  what  had  happened  to  them  since  last  they 
had  been  together.  Leon  produced  his  package 
of  food  and  the  two  boys  partook  sparingly  of  it. 

"Where  are  you  bound?"  asked  Jacques  at 
length. 

"To  rejoin  our  regiment,  of  course.  What  do 
you  intend  to  do!" 

"The  very  same  thing.  I  intended  to  find  you, 
if  possible,  and  then  start  out  with  you  to  locate 
our  troops." 

* '  Have  you  any  idea  where  they  are  1 ' '  inquired 
Leon. 

"Not  the  slightest.  From  what  little  I  hear, 
however,  they  have  been  driven  far  to  the  south- 
ward. An  old  peasant  woman  told  me  yesterday 
that  the  Germans  expected  to  take  Paris  very 
soon.  They  all  said  so  when  she  saw  them.  She 
said  they  were  marching  fast,  sometimes  thirty 
miles  a  day,  and  that  the  allied  armies  were  flee- 
ing before  them.  It  certainly  looks  bad  for  us." 


30    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

" They '11  never  take  Paris,"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Jacques  sadly.  "They  did 
it  in  1870  though,  you  must  remember.  That  was 
the  terrible  year,  I'annee  terrible  as  we  say  in  my 
language." 

"I  know,"  protested  Leon,  "but  because  they 
did  it  then  doesn't  mean  that  they  can  do  it  now. 
Germany  was  all  prepared  for  this  war  while  the 
other  nations  weren't.  They  have  a  start  on  us 
and  it  is  only  natural  that  they  should  win  at 
first.  Wait  until  we  can  bring  an  equal  number 
of  men  up  to  oppose  them,  then  you'll  hear  a  dif- 
ferent story.  Take  my  word  for  it,  the  Germans 
will  never  capture  Paris  on  this  trip." 

"I  hope  you  are  right.  I  myself  have  such  a 
feeling  deep  down  inside  of  me  too,  but  not  as 
strong  as  yours." 

"If  we  were  only  with  our  men,"  sighed  Leon. 

"Let's  start  now,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  spring- 
ing to  his  feet.  "We  must  make  good  time  to- 
night for  we  may  not  be  able  to  travel  very  far 
in  the  daytime." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  Leon,  slowly  rising  as 
he  spoke. 

"Does  your  shoulder  pain  you?"  inquired 
Jacques. 

"Not  a  bit.    Why  do  you  ask?" 

"I  thought  you  favored  it  slightly  as  you  got 
up." 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  31 

"No,"  said  Leon,  "it  is  as  good  as  ever." 

"I'm  very  glad  of  that.  Before  we  reach  our 
regiment  again  we  shall  probably  need  all  the 
strength  and  endurance  we  have.  It  is  not  going 
to  be  an  easy  task." 

"I  guess  not,  but  we'll  get  there  all  right." 

The  two  boys  were  making  their  way  across  the 
field  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  in  all  directions  for 
possible  surprises.  As  they  had  said,  there  was 
a  hard  task  ahead  of  them.  Just  how  hard  it 
would  be  neither  one  realized  for  a  moment.  It 
would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  foresee  the 
risks,  dangers  and  hardships  that  must  be  under- 
gone before  they  should  gain  their  goal.  That  is, 
if  they  ever  should  gain  it. 

"Do  you  suppose  we  shall  have  to  walk  all  the 
way!"  said  Leon,  after  they  had  marched  along 
in  silence  for  some  time. 

"We  may  be  able  to  get  a  ride." 

"On  the  railroad?" 

"I  doubt  that.  You  see,  all  the  railroads  be- 
tween here  and  the  front  of  the  German  advance 
must  be  in  their  hands.  Eailroads  are  the  first 
things  an  army  seizes  when  it  invades  another 
country. ' ' 

"Of  course,"  agreed  Leon,  "and  I  suppose 
they  are  bringing  up  troop-trains  loaded  with 
fresh  soldiers  all  the  time." 

"They  certainly  are,"  said  Jacques.    "I  saw 


32    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

at  least  ten  trains  filled  with  troops  pass  to  the 
south  only  yesterday.'* 

" Where  were  you?" 

"In  the  attic  of  a  deserted  house,  alongside  the 
railroad  track." 

"What  were  you  doing  there!"  exclaimed  Leon 
in  surprise. 

"Spending  the  day,"  laughed  Jacques.  "I 
have  had  to  spend  every  day  for  a  long  time  now 
in  some  such  place,  just  as  you  and  I  will  prob- 
ably be  forced  to  do,  too." 

"How  do  you  think  we  can  get  food?" 

"I  have  been  thinking  of  that.  I  believe  that 
the  best  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  keep  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  main  roads.  Back  in  the  coun- 
try districts  we  shall  be  less  liable  to  capture  or 
to  any  trouble  of  that  kind.  At  the  same  time 
we  shall  stand  more  chance  of  obtaining  food.  I 
am  sure  the  peasants  will  look  out  for  us." 

"Do  you  think  there  are  any  peasants  left?" 

"Why  not?"  said  Jacques. 

"I  thought  they  might  all  be  with  the  army." 

"Well,  the  young  men  probably  are,  but  the 
women  will  still  be  in  their  homes.  The  harvests 
are  ripe  now  and  there  should  be  plenty  of  food." 

"Unless  the  Germans  have  seized  it  all." 

"That  may  have  happened,  too,"  Jacques  as- 
sented. "Let  us  hope  not,  however.  The  main 
body  of  the  army  will  stick  close  to  the  railroads, 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING          33 

and  if  we  get  away  from  them  we  probably  shan't 
run  into  any  German  troops  at  all." 

"How  about  the  Uhlans!"  said  Leon.  "They 
are  everywhere  it  seems  to  me.  They  will  have 
raiding  parties  all  over  the  country." 

"I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  Jacques.  "The 
cavalry  usually  goes  in  advance  of  the  army,  you 
know,  and  we  are  in  the  rear." 

"That's  true,  I  never  thought  of  that.  I  guess 
you  know  more  about  soldiering  than  I  do, 
Jacques. ' ' 

"I  have  had  more  experience,"  said  the  young 
Frenchman  simply.  "When  you  have  served  as 
long  as  I  have  you  will  know  more  than  I  do. " 

' 1 1  know  one  thing  right  now, ' '  exclaimed  Leon, 
"and  that  is,  I'm  tired." 

"We  may  secure  a  ride  in  some  peasant's  cart," 
said  Jacques.  "At  any  rate  it  is  nearly  dawn 
and  we  should  rest  soon." 

In  the  east  a  faint  streak  of  light  appeared. 
The  day  was  evidently  approaching.  In  front  of 
them  the  two  boys  heard  the  crowing  of  a  rooster 
welcoming  the  rising  sun. 

"Did  you  hear  that?"  exclaimed  Jacques. 
"We  are  evidently  approaching  a  house  of  some 
kind.  Perhaps  there  is  a  barn  in  which  we  may 
hide  for  the  day." 

Sure  enough,  the  two  young  soldiers  came 
within  sight  of  a  few  buildings  as  they  reached 


34    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

the  top  of  a  hill.  A  small  farm  lay  spread  out  at 
their  feet  and  there  they  decided  to  spend  the  day. 

Beconnoitering  the  land,  they  cautiously  ap- 
proached the  barn  with  the  intention  of  hiding 
away  in  the  haymow,  at  least  until  they  should 
find  out  if  the  farm  was  inhabited  by  friend  or 
foe. 

As  they  drew  near  they  saw  no  one  and  heard 
no  sound.  A  moment  later  they  came  to  the  barn 
and  entered. 


CHAPTER  IV 

A   NEW   ALLY 

«^m     >f"ON  DIEU!" 

\/ 1         This  startling  exclamation  greeted 

JL  *  JL  the  two  boys  as  they  stepped  inside 
the  supposedly  empty  building.  Instinctively 
they  drew  back  quickly  and  placed  their  hands 
upon  the  butts  of  their  revolvers.  In  the  dim 
light  of  the  early  morning  it  was  impossible  to 
see  who  it  was  that  had  cried  out  at  their  entry, 
but  both  recognized  the  exclamation  as  French. 
It  also  seemed  to  be  in  a  woman's  voice. 

There  was  a  great  scurrying  and  rushing  about 
in  the  barn.  Some  one  seemed  greatly  excited 
and  boxes  and  barrels  were  overturned  as  the  ex- 
citable inmate  ran  about  the  place. 

"Who  is  there?"  called  Jacques  in  his  own 
language. 

' '  Mon  Dieu !    Mon  Dieu ! ' ' 

There  was  no  other  reply.  It  was  evidently  a 
woman's  voice  and  she  seemed  badly  frightened. 

"Come  along,"  said  Jacques,  turning  to  his 
comrade.  "It  is  only  a  poor  peasant  woman 
whom  we  have  frightened  half  out  of  her  wits. ' ' 

35 


"Do  not  be  afraid.  We  are  French  and  friends 
of  yours,"  Jacques  called  out  again,  as  he  spoke 
to  the  woman. 

Leon  could  not  understand  what  his  friend  was 
saying,  but  he  supposed  it  was  all  right,  and  he 
followed  closely  behind  him  as  he  made  his  way 
into  the  barn. 

At  first  no  one  was  to  be  seen.  The  boys 
searched  in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  building, 
under  carriages  and  in  the  stalls,  only  to  be  dis- 
appointed. Jacques  frequently  called  out  in  a 
loud  voice  that  they  were  French  and  would  do 
the  woman  no  harm,  but  she  refused  to  respond. 

"Here  she  is,"  exclaimed  Leon  at  length. 
"Come  and  talk  to  her,  Jacques." 

Leon  had  lifted  the  cover  of  a  large  feed  box 
and  inside  discovered  the  object  of  their  search. 
A  middle-aged  French  woman  was  crouching  in 
one  corner  shaking  with  fear.  At  the  sight  of 
Leon  her  teeth  began  to  chatter  with  fright  and 
she  also  began  to  talk  as  fast  as  she  was  able. 
Naturally  what  she  said  was  lost  on  the  young 
American,  for  he  knew  but  little  French,  and  was 
not  able  to  understand  a  real  Frenchman  when 
once  he  got  started.  It  seemed  almost  incredible 
to  him  that  people  could  talk  as  fast  as  they  did. 

Jacques  approached  at  Leon's  call  and  did  his 
best  to  reassure  the  frightened  woman.  He  so 
far  succeeded  that  in  a  few  moments  she  came 


A  NEW  ALLY  37 

forth  from  lier  hiding  place,  although  as  yet  she 
did  not  entirely  trust  her  two  visitors. 

"She  thought  we  were  Germans,"  explained 
Jacques. 

"I  should  imagine  that  was  the  trouble," 
laughed  Leon.  "I  never  saw  any  one  so  fright- 
ened in  all  my  life." 

' '  Maybe  she  's  had  some  experience  with  them. ' ' 

The  woman  stood  watching  the  two  young  sol- 
diers from  a  short  distance.  She  was  still  shak- 
ing from  her  nervousness  and  the  effects  of  the 
fright  she  had  received,  but  evidently  she  was 
becoming  more  convinced  every  moment  that  she 
was  with  friends. 

She  spoke  to  Jacques  and  for  a  short  time  they 
carried  on  a  conversation,  very  little  of  which 
Leon  could  comprehend.  Every  now  and  then 
he  caught  a  word  or  phrase,  and  the  one  that 
pleased  him  most  of  all  was  what  he  thought  to 
be  the  word  meaning  "eat." 

That  he  was  correct  in  his  surmise  was  soon 
manifest. 

"She  has  invited  us  to  have  some  breakfast," 
Jacques  announced  at  last,  turning  to  his  friend. 

"That's  fine,"  exclaimed  Leon  heartily.  "You 
said  we  would  accept,  all  right,  didn't  you!" 

"Yes,  and  we'd  better  go  into  the  house  now." 

"All  that's  necessary  is  for  you  to  show  me  the 
way,"  said  Leon. 


38    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

In  a  very  short  time  the  two  young  soldiers 
were  seated  in  a  cozy  little  kitchen,  while  the  odor 
of  frying  bacon  and  hot  coffee  filled  their  nos- 
trils. 

Jacques  kept  up  a  steady  conversation  with 
their  hostess. 

She  seemed  to  be  the  only  inmate  of  the  house, 
and  this  turned  out  to  be  the  case.  Her  husband 
and  two  sons  were  all  at  the  front.  She  was  left 
behind  to  manage  her  little  farm  and  live  as  best 
she  was  able.  Just  now  her  crop  of  hay  was  in 
the  fields  ready  to  be  brought  in.  Water  would 
spoil  it  and  even  now  the  sky  threatened  rain. 
She  had  only  one  horse  left  to  her ;  an  animal  too 
old  to  be  of  use  to  either  army. 

Jacques  communicated  all  this  information  to 
his  comrade,  who  at  once  suggested  a  plan. 

"Let's  help  her  get  her  hay  in,"  he  cried  en- 
thusiastically. 

"Ought  we  to  spend  our  time  that  way?"  pro- 
tested Jacques,  doubtfully.  "I'd  like  to  do  it,  but 
I  feel  that  perhaps  we  ought  to  hurry  on  as 
quickly  as  possible." 

"It  won't  take  long.    Let's  do  it." 

"Very  well,  if  you  say  so." 

When  Jacques  communicated  this  news  to  their 
hostess  she  was  almost  overcome.  Such  unex- 
pected aid  seemed  far  too  good  to  be  true.  She 
soon  perceived,  however,  that  the  two  boys  were 


A  NEW  ALLY  39 

serious  in  their  offer,  and  from  that  moment  she 
could  hardly  do  enough  for  them. 

"This  is  something  like!"  exclaimed  Leon 
heartily,  when  a  few  moments  later  they  were 
busily  partaking  of  a  piping  hot  breakfast. 

"It  surely  is,"  agreed  Jacques,  "but  I  must 
say  I  feel  tired." 

"That's  right,  we  have  been  up  all  night, 
haven't  we?"  laughed  Leon. 

"Didn't  you  know  that?" 

"I  had  almost  forgotten  it.  I  was  so  happy  to 
be  on  my  way  again  that  I  had  forgotten  almost 
everything  else,  especially  when  I  saw  all  this 
food." 

"Well,  I  am  nearly  played  out,"  said  Jacques. 
"I  don't  know  how  long  I  shall  be  able  to  keep 
awake  out  there  in  the  fields." 

"Long  enough,  I  guess,"  said  Leon.  "There 
isn't  very  much  hay  and  all  we'll  have  to  do  is  to 
bring  it  into  the  barn.  That  won't  take  very 
long. ' ' 

"Come  on,  then,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  rising 
from  the  table  as  he  spoke. 

Leon  reluctantly  followed  him,  regretfully  leav- 
ing the  food  that  remained  uneaten. 

A  short  time  later,  armed  with  pitchforks,  they 
were  hard  at  work.  The  peasant  woman  man- 
aged the  horse  and  wagon,  while  the  two  boys 
made  the  load.  As  Leon  had  predicted  not  much 


40    WITH  JOFFKE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

time  was  consumed  and  when  two  hours  had 
passed  the  task  was  completed.  For  one  lone 
woman,  however,  the  labor  would  have  proved  a 
most  difficult  undertaking,  and  her  gratitude  was 
correspondingly  sincere. 

" Can't  we  sleep  here  to-day ?"  asked  Leon  of 
his  comrade  as  they  walked  back  to  the  house 
after  their  work. 

"I  guess  so.    I'll  ask  our  hostess." 

This  he  proceeded  to  do  and  she  not  only  agreed 
to  the  suggestion,  but  practically  insisted  upon 
the  further  acceptance  of  her  hospitality  by  her 
guests.  She  led  the  way  to  a  small  room  on  the 
second  floor  where  a  huge  feather  bed  offered  a 
hearty  welcome  to  the  two  tired  young  soldiers. 
They  lost  no  time  preparing  for  the  welcome  rest. 

"Did  you  tell  her  to  call  us  at  dark?"  asked 
Leon. 

"I  did.  She  also  promised  to  keep  a  lookout 
for  any  wandering  bands  of  Germans.  I  think 
we  don't  need  to  worry." 

"She'll  do  her  best  for  us,  that's  sure.  Has 
she  seen  any  German  troops  lately?" 

"Two  days  ago  a  squad  of  Uhlans  stopped 
here." 

"Did  they  take  anything?" 

"There  was  nothing  to  take  except  two  hams 
and  a  barrel  of  flour  which  she  had  hidden  safely 
away  in  the  barn." 


A  NEW  ALLY  41 

"Pretty  lucky,  I  should  say,"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"Good  night." 

"Good  morning  you  mean,  don't  you?" 

"I  guess  maybe  I  do.  Anyway,  I'm  going  to 
sleep." 

It  seemed  to  the  two  boys  that  they  had  been 
asleep  only  a  few  moments  when  a  loud  knock- 
ing at  the  door  aroused  them.  Leon  was  the  first 
to  awake  and  after  a  great  deal  of  shaking  he 
managed  to  make  Jacques,  too,  open  his  eyes. 

"Who  is  it!"  called  Jacques  in  French. 

The  peasant  woman  answered  that  it  was  fast 
growing  dark  and  that  they  should  once  more  be 
on  their  way. 

The  boys  were  soon  downstairs,  ready  to  start. 
Their  hostess  had  prepared  dinner  for  them, 
among  the  articles  of  food  being  generous  slices 
of  the  precious  ham,  and  bread  made  from  the 
rescued  flour. 

Jacques  protested  against  this  lavishness,  but 
to  no  avail.  Nothing  was  too  good  for  a  soldier 
of  France,  the  grateful  woman  maintained,  and 
she  purposed  to  give  them  the  best  she  had. 
After  dinner  she  engaged  Jacques  in  a  long  and 
earnest  conversation.  Leon,  completely  mysti- 
fied, listened  in  a  vain  effort  to  catch  the  meaning 
of  it  all. 

Jacques  was  protesting  vigorously,  but  the 
woman  only  became  more  insistent  in  what  she 


42    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

was  saying.  When  she  brought  a  woman's  sun- 
bonnet  and  dress  and  handed  them  to  his  friend, 
Leon  gave  up  trying  to  solve  the  riddle. 

At  length  Jacques  seemed  to  agree  to  what  the 
woman  had  said,  and  she  hurried  smiling  out  of 
the  house. 

"She  has  given  us  her  horse  and  cart,"  said 
Jacques,  turning  to  his  comrade.  "I  am  going  to 
dress  up  as  a  woman  and  drive  it." 

"We  won't  take  it,"  exclaimed  Leon  warmly. 

"Oh,  yes,  we  will.  At  first  I  thought  we  would 
refuse  it,  too,  but  I've  changed  my  mind.  She 
would  be  heartbroken  if  we  didn't  do  as  she  wants 
us  to." 

"How  are  we  going  to  manage  it?" 

"You'll  know  all  about  it  in  a  very  short  time." 


CHAPTER  V 

A    STRANGE    CONVEYANCE 

FIRST  of  all  Jacques  dressed  himself  in  the 
garments  the  peasant  woman  had  given 
him.  Covering  his  other  clothes  he  put 
on  the  dress  and  when  he  had  donned  the  sun- 
bonnet,  he  made  a  very  good  looking  girl.  His 
cheeks  were  rosy,  and  his  figure  slight.  Unless 
scrutinized  too  closely  he  might  easily  pass  as  a 
young  country  girl. 

"You're  all  right,"  laughed  Leon.  "You  want 
to  keep  your  feet  out  of  sight  though,  for  I  hope 
no  one  would  ever  accuse  a  French  girl  of  having 
feet  the  size  of  yours." 

"Do  you  think  I  will  pass  in  other  respects?" 

"You  certainly  will.  You're  a  fine  looking 
girl." 

"Come  then,  and  we  will  start  on  our  journey 
at  once." 

In  the  barn  they  found  their  hostess  waiting 
for  them.  She  had  hitched  the  horse  to  a  wagon 
loaded  with  hay  and  everything  appeared  to  be  in 
readiness  for  their  departure. 

"How  can  I  go  along  in  this  way!"  exclaimed 

43 


44    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

Leon.  "I  can't  pass  as  a  Frenchman.  I  don't 
look  like  one  and  I  don't  know  but  a  very  few 
words  of  the  language." 

"That  is  all  arranged  for,"  Jacques  assured 
him. 

"How!" 

"I'll  show  you  at  once." 

He  spoke  rapidly  to  the  peasant  woman  who 
smiled  delightedly  at  his  words.  Turning  to 
Leon  she  beckoned  him  to  approach  and  then  she 
showed  him  a  remarkable  thing. 

Mounting  the  wagon  she  dug  busily  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  hay  for  a  few  moments.  The  two  boys 
watched  her  excitedly,  and  though  Jacques  evi- 
dently knew  the  secret  he  was  as  interested  as  his 
friend. 

Under  the  hay  appeared  a  wire  cage,  in  some 
respects  similar  to  a  huge  rat  trap.  It  was 
crudely  made  and  what  its  use  had  been  Leon  had 
no  idea.  This  cage  formed  a  space  in  the  middle 
of  the  hay-load,  perhaps  four  feet  square,  the  bot- 
tom of  the  contrivance  resting  on  the  wooden 
boards  of  the  wagon. 

Here  Leon  evidently  was  expected  to  remain 
while  they  were  on  the  road.  All  about  him  the 
hay  would  be  piled  so  that  he  would  be  completely 
hidden  from  sight. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that?"  exclaimed 
Jacques. 


A  STRANGE  CONVEYANCE  45 

"Why,  it  seems  to  be  all  right,"  said  Leon 
somewhat  dubiously.  "It  doesn't  look  very  com- 
fortable and  I  wonder  if  I  can  breathe  in  there." 

"You  didn't  expect  comfort,  did  you?  At  any 
rate  it's  far  easier  than  walking.  As  for  breath- 
ing, there  is  no  doubt  about  that ;  the  hay  will  be 
piled  loosely  about  you  and  you  will  be  perfectly 
all  right." 

"Did  you  think  of  this  scheme!" 

"No;  our  hostess  here  was  the  inventor.  She 
told  me  all  about  it  in  the  house.  She  thinks  it  is 
fine  because  now  we  can  travel  day  times  as  well 
as  at  night." 

"Do  you  think  so  too!" 

"I  don't  see  why  not,  if  I  can  pass  myself  off 
as  a  woman." 

"I  hope  you  can  do  that,"  laughed  Leon.  "If 
you  are  caught  it  means  trouble  for  me  just  as 
much  as  for  you.  Suppose  some  one  should  set 
fire  to  this  load  of  hay  while  I  am  inside." 

"At  any  rate  you'd  keep  warm,"  said  Jacques 
consolingly. 

"I  never  expect  to  be  as  cold  as  that,"  replied 
Leon  earnestly. 

"Yes,"  he  continued,  "this  conveyance  seems 
all  right  to  me." 

"Let's  start  then." 

They  shook  hands  with  the  poor  peasant  woman 
who  had  befriended  them.  They  were  profuse  in 


46    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

their  thanks  to  her,  and  she  in  turn  vas  just  as 
grateful  for  the  help  the  young  soldiers  had  given 
her.  She  begged  Jacques  to  be  on  the  lookout  for 
the  men  of  her  family,  and  this  he  promised  to  do. 
She  gave  them  careful  directions  as  to  the  route 
they  should  follow  and  now  they  were  ready  to 
start. 

Leon  climbed  upon  the  hay-load  and  prepared 
to  conceal  himself.  In  his  little  room  were  placed 
the  blankets  and  the  few  possessions  the  young 
soldiers  owned.  The  blankets  helped  to  make 
him  comfortable  and  to  lessen  the  jolting  of  the 
wagon. 

"Have  we  everything!"  he  asked  of  Jacques  as 
he  prepared  to  descend. 

"I  think  so.     How  about  your  revolver?" 

"It  is  in  my  pocket.  Do  you  want  me  to  keep 
yours  ? ' ' 

' l  No,  indeed,  I  much  prefer  it  right  where  it  is. '  * 

"Suppose  you  are  caught  with  it." 

"I  guess  if  I  am  caught,  it  won't  make  much 
difference  whether  or  not  I  have  a  gun." 

"That's  true  enough,  to  be  sure.  All  right 
then,  here  goes!" 

Leon  scrambled  down  the  pocket  into  the  hay. 
There  was  a  door  on  the  top  of  the  cage  through 
which  he  descended.  Then  Jacques  and  the  peas- 
ant woman  piled  the  hay  all  about  him  so  that  the 


A  STRANGE  CONVEYANCE  47 

wagon  appeared  to  be  carrying  nothing  but  its 
load  of  fodder. 

1 1  Can  you  breathe  ? ' '  inquired  Jacques  in  a  low 
voice. 

" Perfectly.  You  didn't  put  very  much  hay 
around  me,  did  you?" 

"Only  enough  to  hide  you  surely.  This  is  a 
very  small  load  anyway,  you  know." 

"I'm  fixed  fine  in  here,"  said  Leon.  "Can  you 
hear  me  talk  all  right!" 

"Just  as  well  as  ever.  Are  you  ready  to 
start?" 

"Go  ahead,"  called  Leon. 

In  another  moment  the  two  young  soldiers  were 
once  more  on  their  way  to  join  their  regiment. 
The  wagon  bumped  along  over  the  rough  barn- 
yard, but  as  soon  as  the  boys  reached  the  road 
the  riding  became  much  easier. 

Leon  did  not  cease  wondering  at  the  marvelous 
roads  all  over  France.  Here  they  were  almost  at 
the  northern  border  and  the  same  broad  white 
roads  were  to  be  found  there  as  existed  nearer 
Paris. 

He  was  very  comfortable  in  his  little  compart- 
ment and  happy  too,  except  that  he  would  have 
liked  to  see  where  they  were  going. 

"Is  there  any  moon?"  he  asked  of  Jacques. 

"Almost  full,"  was  the  reply. 


48    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"I'd  like  to  be  out  with  you  and  see  it.  It's 
pretty  stuffy  in  here." 

"Why  don't  you  come  out  then?"  exclaimed 
Jacques  teasingly.  "I  am  not  stopping  you,  I'm 
sure. ' ' 

"Don't  be  funny,  Jacques.  It  is  bad  enough 
being  in  here,  without  your  teasing  me  about  it. 
How  much  hay  is  there  on  top  of  me  anyway?" 

"Oh,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet," 
answered  Jacques. 

"Then  I  could  easily  get  out.  If  I  just  stood1 
up  I  could  lift  the  cage  and  all  right  up  on  my 
shoulders." 

"Don't  try  it  now,  please,"  exclaimed  Jacques. 
"I  guess  you  could  do  as  you  say,  but  I'll  take 
your  word  for  it." 

"Don't  tease  me  then,"  threatened  Leon,  pre- 
tending to  be  angry. 

"All  right,  I  won't  any  more.  We  are  coming 
to  a  town  now,  I  think,  so  we'd  better  not  talk 
for  a  while. ' ' 

They  lapsed  into  silence.  Jacques,  dressed  in 
girl's  clothing,  made  a  strange  picture  as  he  drove 
into  the  little  French  town.  Only  a  few  people 
were  on  the  one  narrow  street,  and  when  they  saw 
a  girl  driving  the  hay-load  they  paid  scant  atten- 
tion to  her.  Germans  seemed  to  be  the  only  ob- 
jects of  interest  in  that  part  of  the  country,  just 
then,  and  nothing  else  mattered. 


A  STRANGE  CONVEYANCE  49 

Perhaps  if  Leon  had  suddenly  jumped  to  his 
feet  and  appeared  in  the  middle  of  the  hay-load 
the  sight  would  have  created  as  much  consterna- 
tion as  the  Germans.  Leon,  however,  had  no  such 
thought,  for  he  was  sound  asleep.  Curled  up  in 
his  little  cage  he  slept  on  in  spite  of  the  rumble 
of  the  cart  and  the  squeaking  of  its  wheels. 

After  passing  through  the  village,  Jacques  had 
addressed  several  remarks  to  his  friend,  but  re- 
ceiving no  response  he  decided  that  he  must  be 
asleep  and  so  he  tried  no  more.  The  horse  trav- 
eled slowly  and  more  than  once  the  young  French- 
man dozed  off  and  so  caught  a  few  winks  of  sleep 
himself. 

"What  time  is  it?" 

Leon  was  at  last  awake,  and  stiff  and  cramped 
as  well. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Jacques,  "but  it  is  get- 
ting light." 

"Whew,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "I've  been  asleep 
a  long  time.  Have  you  had  any  excitement  I ' ' 

"Not  a  bit,  but  I  think  I  see  some  now,"  said 
Jacques  sharply.  "Don't  say  another  word  un- 
less I  tell  you  to." 


CHAPTEE  VI 

AN   ENCOUNTER   WITH   THE   TIHLANS 

FAR  down  the  road  ahead  of  them  Jacques 
saw  horses,  ridden  by  men  who  were 
wearing  German  helmets.  They  were  ap- 
proaching and  there  appeared  to  be  about  ten  in 
the  force. 

A  band  of  raiding  Uhlans,  he  said  to  himself, 
and  soon  he  would  know  whether  his  disguise  was 
effective  or  not.  He  was  decidedly  nervous  about 
the  test  he  was  about  to  undergo,  and  he  hoped 
that  his  voice  would  not  betray  him. 

However,  if  Jacques  felt  nervous,  what  could 
be  said  of  the  young  American  inside  the  load  of 
hay?  He  had  no  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  ex- 
citement which  his  friend  had  said  was  coming; 
he  could  not  see  anything  and  the  best  he  could 
do  was  to  guess  at  what  was  in  store  for  him  and 
his  young  French  comrade.  Leon  spent  a  few 
very  uneasy  moments. 

Presently  he  heard  the  clatter  of  hoofs,  and 
then  a  loud  command  in  German  as  the  horses 
came  to  a  stop  alongside  the  wagon.  He  knew 
something  critical  was  about  to  happen  and  he 

60 


AN  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  UHLANS  51 

felt  for  his  revolver  as  he  crouched  in  the  dark- 
ness of  his  hiding  place. 

Outside  he  could  hear  words  in  German  and 
then  occasionally  Jacques  would  answer  in 
French.  If  he  could  only  see  what  was  happen- 
ing! He  was  nervous  and  only  his  great  confi- 
dence in  his  friend's  quick  wit  prevented  him  from 
springing  to  his  feet  and  disclosing  himself. 

He  knew  Jacques  was  possessed  of  cool  judg- 
ment and  good  nerve,  however,  and  he  decided 
that  the  only  thing  for  him  to  do  was  to  trust  to 
him.  Hours  seemed  to  pass  as  he  awaited  the 
result  of  the  conference,  but  in  reality  only  a  few 
moments  elapsed: 

At  length  to  his  great  relief  he  heard  a  com- 
mand given  and  the  Germans  galloped  off  down 
the  road.  Still  Leon  did  not  dare  to  speak  for  he 
had  no  way  of  knowing  whether  all  the  Uhlans 
had  left  or  not. 

" They've  gone,"  exclaimed  Jacques  a  moment 
later. 

"All  of  them?" 

"Yes.     There  were  ten  of  them  in  all." 

"What  did  they  want?" 

"How  do  I  know?  I  don't  understand  German 
and  evidently  they  don't  understand  French." 

"What  did  they  do?"  insisted  Leon.  "I  want 
to  know  what  happened." 

"They  just  stood  and  talked  and  looked  at  me. 


52    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

I  think  they  had  some  discussion  as  to  whether 
they  should  let  me  go  or  not.  Anyway,  that 's  the 
way  it  seemed  to  me,  and  for  a  while  I  thought 
they  were  going  to  make  me  go  along  with  them." 

"You  are  sure  they  are  all  gone  now?" 

"Positively,  and  it  seems  to  me  we  ought  to 
stop  somewhere  soon.  We  have  been  traveling 
all  night,  you  know,  and  our  horse  ought  to  have 
a  rest.  We  want  something  to  eat,  too." 

"Is  it  light  outside  now?"  asked  Leon. 

"Light  as  day." 

"Let's  stop  then;  I'm  tired  of  living  in  here 
like  a  mole.  I  tell  you  it's  nervous  work,  too, 
when  any  Germans  come  along.  When  they  were 
talking  to  you  there  a  few  minutes  ago,  I  can  tell 
you  I  was  anxious." 

"I'll  see  if  I  can  discover  a  good  place  for  us 
to  stop,"  said  Jacques. 

"Aren't  there  any  woods  near-by?" 

"Yes,  there  are  some  just  ahead.  Perhaps 
there  is  a  peasant's  house  in  them  somewhere  and 
we  can  put  up  there  for  the  day." 

"What  can  we  feed  the  horse?"  exclaimed  Leon 
suddenly. " 

Jacques  laughed  heartily. 

"Are  you  fooling?"  he  asked. 

"Certainly  not,"  replied  Leon  hotly.  "What 
are  you  laughing  at?" 

"I  hope  you  are  not  serious  just  the  same. 


AN  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  UHLANS     53 

But  if  you  are,  I'd  like  to  ask  you  one  question. 
What  is  it  we  have  on  this  wagon?" 

"Hay,  of  course." 

"You  are  right.    What  do  horses  eat?" 

It  was  now  Leon's  turn  to  laugh. 

"This  darkness  and  close  air  must  have  affected 
my  brain,"  he  said.  "I  never  heard  of  anything 
so  silly  as  my  asking  what  the  horse  would  eat. 
Did  you  ever  have  a  brain  storm  like  that ! ' ' 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  Jacques  cheerfully.  "Per- 
haps you  are  feeling  the  effects  of  your  cramped 
position  in  there.  I'll  get  you  out  very  soon." 

"It  can't  be  any  too  soon  for  me,"  exclaimed 
Leon  heartily. 

As  he  spoke  Jacques  heard  hoof  beats  behind 
him  and  turning  around  he  spied  two  horsemen 
approaching.  They  were  Germans  and  evidently 
part  of  the  detachment  that  had  stopped  him  a 
short  time  previously. 

"Quiet,  Leon!  Quiet!"  he  cautioned.  "Here 
come  two  Uhlans." 

Jacques,  after  the  first  quick  glance  he  cast 
over  his  shoulder,  paid  no  more  attention  to  the 
approaching  horsemen.  He  kept  his  eyes  straight 
ahead  and  endeavored  to  compose  himself  as 
much  as  possible.  At  any  rate  he  did  not  know 
whether  or  not  it  was  on  his  account  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  returning  and  he  determined  that  even 
though  that  should  prove  to  be  the  case  he  would 


54    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

show  no  signs  of  uneasiness  if  he  could  prevent 
it. 

Louder  and  louder  sounded  the  approaching 
hoof  beats.  The  hearts  of  the  two  young  soldiers 
also  beat  faster  and  faster,  as  they  heard  their 
enemies  draw  nearer  and  nearer. 

Both  boys  had  a  feeling  that  they  were  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Uhlans'  return  and  they  prepared 
themselves  to  meet  whatever  might  happen. 
They  were  both  determined  to  resist  capture  to 
the  last  and  to  go  to  any  extremity  to  avoid  this. 
Leon  had  his  revolver  grasped  tightly  in  his  right 
hand,  while  Jacques  carefully  removed  his  from 
his  blouse  and  placed  it  in  the  hay  beside  him. 

The  two  Germans  were  almost  upon  them  now 
and  Jacques  steeled  himself  for  the  encounter.  A 
moment  later  they  were  alongside  the  wagon  and 
then  in  front  of  it.  Perhaps  they  were  going  past 
after  all,  thought  Jacques. 

This  was  not  to  be  the  case,  however.  Just  as 
the  young  Frenchman  had  almost  persuaded  him- 
self that  the  danger  was  gone  the  Germans  sud- 
denly drew  rein  and  wheeled  their  horses.  One 
on  each  side  of  the  road  they  stood,  effectually 
blocking  any  chance  of  passage. 

Jacques  looked  at  them  as  unconcernedly  as 
possible  and  tried  his  best  to  hide  his  feelings. 
The  horsemen  held  up  their  hands  and  Jacques 
stopped  the  wagon. 


AN  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  UHLANS  55 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  one  of  the 
Uhlans  in  French. 

Evidently  the  first  detachment  that  had  stopped 
the  boys  had  met  with  one  of  their  comrades  who 
could  speak  French.  He  had  been  sent  back  to 
question  the  girl  on  the  load  of  hay. 

"To  my  uncle's,  down  the  road,"  replied 
Jacques  somewhat  taken  back  at  being  addressed 
in  his  own  language. 

"To  whom  are  you  taking  the  hay?"  continued 
the  German. 

"To  my  uncle,  of  course." 

"What  can  he  use  it  for?" 

"Why,  to  feed  his  horses,"  exclaimed  Jacques 
in  mock  surprise. 

"That  cannot  be  true,"  said  his  questioner. 
"We  have  just  been  all  along  this  road  and  you 
may  be  sure  we  left  no  horses  behind  us." 

"It  must  have  been  very  recently,"  said 
Jacques,  realizing  that  he  was  on  dangerous 
ground  and  fighting  for  time  to  think  of  some 
way  out  of  his  peril. 

"A  week  ago,"  said  the  man,  looking  narrowly 
at  Jacques. 

"At  any  rate  I  must  see  him,"  said  the  young 
Frenchman.  "Will  you  let  me  pass,  Monsieur?" 

"You  come  with  us,"  exclaimed  the  man  gruffly, 
suddenly  changing  his  manner. 

"But  why?" 


56    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"Because  I  tell  you  to.  Come  along,  no  fooling 
now. ' ' 

"But  why  do  you  want  me?"  protested  Jacques. 
"What  possible  service  can  I,  a  poor  French  peas- 
ant girl,  do  you  ? ' ' 

"I  said  for  you  to  come  with  us!"  said  the 
Uhlan  sharply.  "If  you  won't  come  of  your  own 
accord,  we  '11  make  you. ' ' 

"I  don't  see  why  I  should,"  continued  Jacques 
quietly. 

"You're  coming  just  the  same,"  cried  the  Ger- 
man angrily,  and  he  reached  forward  to  grasp  the 
bridle  of  the  horse  Jacques  was  driving. 

As  he  did  so  Jacques  suddenly  sprang  to  his 
feet,  revolver  in  hand. 

"Quick,  Leon!  Quick!"  he  shouted.  "I  need 
help." 


CHAPTER  VII 

A   SURPKISE 

LEON  was  not  slow  to  respond  to  the  sum- 
mons. For  some  time  he  had  been  crouch- 
ing in  readiness  for  just  such  a  call. 
Consequently  the  moment  he  heard  his  name 
spoken  he  acted.  Grasping  the  wire  cage  which 
covered  him,  he  lifted  with  all  his  strength  and 
hurled  it  high  into  the  air.  Eevolver  in  hand  he 
scrambled  out  of  his  cubby-hole  as  fast  as  he  pos- 
sibly could. 

As  he  did  so  he  heard  several  pistol  shots  in 
quick  succession. 

The  Uhlans  had  been  completely  taken  by  sur- 
prise at  the  sudden  change  in  the  actions  of  the 
supposed  French  girl.  Seeing  her  abruptly 
spring  to  her  feet  and  call  out  in  deep,  mannish 
tones  for  some  one  they  could  not  see  was  bad 
enough.  And  then  suddenly  to  see  the  whole  top 
of  the  hay-load  fly  into  the  air,  however,  was 
something  that  seemed  completely  to  daze  them. 
The  cavalrymen  sat  on  their  horses  as  if  they 
were  too  stunned  to  move. 

Jacques  had  relied  upon  this  lack  of  quick  action 
on  their  part  and  had  fired  several  shots  into  the 

57 


58    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

air  in  order  further  to  increase  the  astonishment 
of  the  Germans.  At  the  same  time  he  called  upon 
both  of  them  to  surrender. 

The  light  somewhat  dazzled  Leon's  eyes  when 
he  emerged  from  his  hiding  place,  but  the  first 
objects  he  saw  when  he  became  somewhat  accus- 
tomed to  it  were  two  huge  Uhlans  seated  on  two 
splendid  horses.  Both  men  were  holding  their 
hands  high  above  their  heads  in  token  of  their 
surrender. 

"Take  their  weapons  away  from  them,  Leon," 
ordered  Jacques. 

"I  certainly  will,"  exclaimed  Leon  delightedly. 

He  quickly  leaped  down  to  the  ground  and  ap- 
proached their  prisoners. 

"Keep  them  covered,  Jacques,"  he  warned. 

"Don't  worry  about  that.  I  feel  sorry  for  the 
one  that  moves  first." 

It  was  but  a  moment's  work  to  disarm  the  two 
men,  and  when  this  task  was  completed,  Jacques 
ordered  the  Uhlans  to  dismount. 

This  they  did  and  while  Leon  stood  guard  over 
them  Jacques  took  off  his  dress.  He  quickly  tore 
it  into  strips  and  soon  the  two  Germans,  who  still 
seemed  to  be  somewhat  dazed,  were  securely 
bound  hand  and  foot  and  laid  by  the  roadside. 

"Now  we'd  better  leave,"  exclaimed  Jacques. 

"Yes,  and  quickly,  too." 

"Shall  we  take  their  horses'?" 


A  SURPRISE  59 

"Why  not?" 

"What  shall  we  do  with  ours?" 

"Leave  him  here.  He  can't  be  of  any  possible 
use  to  us." 

"Very  well,"  agreed  Jacques,  "but  I  want  to 
do  one  thing  for  him.  He  brought  us  quite  a  long 
distance  last  night  and  should  be  rewarded." 

He  quickly  cut  the  traces  and  let  their  faithful 
old  horse  out  of  the  shafts.  He  took  the  bit  out 
of  the  animal's  mouth  and  led  him  around  to  the 
rear  of  the  wagon.  The  horse  immediately  began 
contentedly  to  munch  the  hay.  There  Jacques 
left  him. 

"That's  the  way,  Jacques!"  said  Leon  approv- 
ingly. "Now  let's  get  on  our  new  mounts  and 
leave  this  section  as  fast  as  we  can  go." 

The  boys,  both  of  whom  were  expert  horsemen, 
and  had  proved  their  ability  not  long  before  in 
Belgium,*  were  soon  in  the  saddle. 

"Why  not  dress  up  in  these  men's  uniforms?" 
exclaimed  Leon. 

"Yes,  and  be  shot  for  a  couple  of  spies," 
grunted  Jacques.  "Not  for  me.  I  prefer  per- 
sonally to  take  my  chances  in  a  French  uniform. '  * 

"You're  right,  as  usual,"  agreed  Leon. 
"Come  on." 

Setting  spurs  to  their  horses  they  sped  off  down 
the  road. 

•See  "The  Air  Scout." 


60    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"That  was  the  easiest  thing  I  ever  saw,"  said 
Leon  a  few  moments  later.  "You  certainly 
worked  that  trick  in  great  style,  Jacques." 

"It  was  your  sudden  appearance  that  finished 
them,  I  think,"  said  Jacques.  "You  should  have 
seen  the  look  on  their  faces  when  the  cage  and 
the  hay  shot  up  into  the  air.  They  were  stunned 
absolutely." 

"It's  a  good  thing  they  were,  for  I  couldn't  see 
a  thing  when  the  light  first  struck  my  eyes." 

"I  guess  they  thought  there  was  a  noiseless 
bomb  or  something  like  that  inside  the  hay,"  said 
Jacques ;  and  both  boys  laughed  delightedly  at  the 
recollection. 

"You'd  jump  too,  if  you  suddenly  saw  the  top 
fly  off  a  hay-load,  wouldn't  you!"  demanded 
Leon. 

"I  know  I  would,"  laughed  Jacques. 

"Well,  then,  I  guess  we  ought  not  to  blame 
those  Uhlans.  At  the  same  time  I'm  glad  there 
was  no  fight." 

' '  So  am  I.  I  think  we  '11  have  plenty  of  fighting 
later  and  there  is  no  use  in  looking  for  trouble 
before  it  can  be  seen." 

"That's  right.  By  the  way,  when  are  we  going 
to  stop  and  have  a  little  food?"  added  Leon. 

"I  was  thinking  of  that  very  thing,"  said 
Jacques.  "Let's  stop  now." 


A  SURPRISE  61 

"Where?" 

"Turn  in  here  to  the  right.  We  ought  to  find 
a  place  near-by." 

The  two  hoys  were  riding  through  a  long 
stretch  of  woods.  A  narrow  path  ran  at  right 
angles  with  the  main  road  and  this  path  the  two 
young  soldiers  chose  to  follow.  It  wound  in  and 
out  under  the  great  trees  in  the  forest  and  was 
evidently  but  little  used. 

A  mile  or  so  the  two  boys  rode  into  the  woods, 
still  following  the  pathway. 

"Isn't  this  far  enough?"  demanded  Leon. 

"I  was  hoping  we'd  find  a  stream  of  some 
kind,"  said  Jacques.  "We  could  give  our  horses 
a  drink  then,  and  have  one  ourselves." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon,  "that  sounds  like  a 
good  idea." 

"You  have  the  food  with  you,  haven't  you?" 

"I  have  what  the  peasant  woman  gave  us." 

"That's  what  I  mean.  Pretty  soon  we'll  have 
to  be  foraging  for  ourselves  and  I  don't  think 
there  is  very  much  food  to  be  had  in  this  part  of 
the  country." 

"Oh,  we'll  manage  somehow,"  exclaimed  Leon 
cheerfully. 

"You  Americans  always  have  lots  of  confidence, 
anyway,"  said  Jacques  laughingly. 

"Well,  it's  a  good  thing  to  have,  isn't  it?" 


62    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"It  certainly  is,"  agreed  Jacques. 

"There's  a  brook  ahead,"  Leon  exclaimed  sud- 
denly. 

A  moment  later  the  two  young  horsemen  came 
to  the  bank  of  a  small  brook  which  made  its  way 
through  the  center  of  the  forest. 

"Let's  follow  it  for  a  mile  or  so  to  the  south," 
said  Jacques. 

"Is  that  the  direction  in  which  we  want  to  go?" 

"Yes,  and  I  think  we'd  better  get  some  distance 
away  from  this  path.  So  far,  we  haven't  met 
any  one,  but  you  never  can  tell. ' ' 

"It's  impossible  to  be  too  careful  to  suit  me," 
agreed  Leon,  as  they  turned  the  heads  of  their 
horses  from  the  path  and  started  to  follow  the 
winding  bed  of  the  brook. 

For  some  time  they  proceeded  in  silence, 
Jacques  leading  the  way.  The  horses  they  had 
captured  were  magnificent  animals  but  they  had 
been  ridden  hard  and  far  and  were  in  need  of 
rest.  The  boys  too  were  very  tired  after  their 
tedious  ride  in  the  hay  cart,  and  they  had  eaten 
nothing  since  the  preceding  evening. 

Presently  they  came  to  a  little  ravine,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  steep  cliffs  and  huge 
rocks.  A  small  clump  of  trees  was  situated  in  the 
center  of  the  hollow  and  here  it  was  the  boys  de- 
cided to  make  their  camp. 

Jacques  had  filled  a  bag  with  hay  before  they 


A  SUBPRISE  63 

left  their  wagon,  and  this  he  gave  to  the  horses 
after  allowing  them  to  drink  at  the  brook.  The 
two  boys  also  drank  deeply  of  the  cool,  clear 
water  and  then  at  once  set  about  preparing  their 
meal. 

"What  have  we  to  eat?"  inquired  Jacques. 

"Some  hard  biscuits,  two  loaves  of  bread  and 
some  bacon." 

"That's  better  than  nothing,  anyway." 

'  *  Of  course  it  is.  I  call  that  a  very  good  meal, ' ' 
laughed  Leon.  "We  can  have  some  hot  bacon  at 
any  rate." 

"How  are  you  going  to  cook  it?  We  have 
nothing  to  put  it  in." 

"Give  me  a  match  and  I'll  soon  show  you." 

"I  don't  know  whether  I  have  any  matches  or 
not." 

"Oh,  Jacques,  you  must  have,"  exclaimed  Leon 
in  alarm.  "Every  good  soldier  always  carries 
matches." 

"Have  you  any?"  demanded  Jacques  as  he 
fumbled  through  his  pockets. 

"No,  but  I'm  not  a  good  soldier,  I  admit." 

"Well,  I  have  two,  and  don't  waste  them  what- 
ever you  do." 

"You  tie  the  horses  while  I  build  the  fire,"  said 
Leon  as  he  began  the  task  of  gathering  firewood. 

Jacques  had  been  holding  the  two  horses  by 
their  bridles  all  this  time,  while  they  munched  the 


64    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

hay  on  the  ground  at  their  feet.  Now  he  led  them 
about  fifty  feet  away  and  proceeded  to  fasten 
them  to  the  low  hanging  branch  of  a  near-by  tree. 
Then  he  gathered  up  the  remnants  of  the  hay  and 
carried  it  to  the  hungry  animals. 

When  he  returned  to  his  comrade,  there  was  a 
bright  fire  burning.  Leon  was  sharpening  sticks 
with  which  he  speared  fat  chunks  of  bacon  and 
held  them  over  the  fire  to  roast. 

"That's  the  finest  smell  I  have  ever  encoun- 
tered," exclaimed  Jacques  enthusiastically.  "I 
didn't  know  I  was  so  hungry." 

"This  will  taste  all  right,"  said  Leon,  "even  if 
it  doesn't  look  so  very  good." 

"Cut  some  slices  of  that  bread,  Jacques,"  he 
added.  "We'll  have  roast  bacon  sandwiches." 

This  was  quickly  done  and  soon  the  two  young 
soldiers  were  busily  engaged  in  appeasing  their 
keen  appetites.  So  engaged  in  this  occupation 
were  they  that  they  did  not  notice  what  was  go- 
ing on  about  them.  They  had  entirely  forgotten 
that  they  might  be  in  danger. 

They  speedily  were  recalled  to  the  possibility, 
however,  when  they  heard  the  rush  of  feet  be- 
hind them  and  felt  strong  hands  grasp  them 
tightly  around  their  necks  and  hold  their  arms 
fast. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

NEW    FRIENDS 

THE  two  boys  were  so  completely  taken  by 
surprise  at  this  sudden  onslaught  that 
they  were  powerless  to  resist.  Before 
they  had  time  to  realize  what  was  happening  they 
found  themselves  bound  hand  and  foot.  Strug- 
gle as  they  might,  they  could  not  loosen  their  bonds 
in  the  slightest  degree. 

The  first  thought  to  flash  through  the  boys' 
minds  had  been  that  their  assailants  were  Ger- 
mans; probably  some  comrades  of  the  Uhlans 
whose  horses  they  had  seized  had  tracked  them 
to  this  spot. 

Imagine  their  surprise  at  looking  up  into  the 
faces  of  five  or  six  great  rough  looking,  bearded 
men,  who  certainly  were  not  Germans,  and  who 
resembled  no  Frenchmen  that  Leon,  at  least,  had 
ever  seen.  He  wondered  if  they  were  robbers  or 
desperadoes  of  some  sort,  who  were  hiding  in 
this  forest  to  escape  the  law. 

They  were  certainly  as  wild  appearing  individ- 
uals as  he  had  ever  beheld.  Bagged  and  unkempt, 
and  all  large  and  powerfully  built,  they  did  not 

65 


66    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

present  a  very  pleasant  appearance,  whoever  they 
might  be. 

The  captors  of  the  young  soldiers  stood  over 
them,  talking  rapidly  in  a  language  that  to  Leon 
seemed  a  strange  gibberish,  which  possibly  might 
be  a  dialect  of  the  French.  He  trusted  so,  at  any 
rate. 

Jacques  straightway  began  to  talk.  The  men 
looked  at  him  for  a  moment  in  surprise  and 
then  quickly  loosed  him  from  his  bonds.  Leon 
was  soon  released  also  and  the  boys  arose  to 
their  feet,  once  more  free.  At  least  they  were  no 
longer  tied. 

"What  is  happening?"  asked  Leon  of  his 
friend. 

Jacques,  however,  paid  no  attention  to  his  com- 
rade, but  kept  busily  talking  to  the  strange  look- 
ing men. 

They  must  be  French,  thought  Leon,  or  they 
could  not  understand  what  his  comrade  was  say- 
ing. Certainly  Jacques  was  using  that  language. 
The  men  stood  around  him  gesticulating  and  talk- 
ing rapidly.  They  pointed  to  the  horses  and 
then  they  pointed  to  Leon,  evidently  questioning 
Jacques  in  regard  to  them. 

They  laughed  at  Jacques'  replies  and  as  far  as 
Leon  could  understand  appeared  to  be  apologiz- 
ing. At  length  the  strange  conversation  ceased 
and  Jacques  turned  to  his  companion. 


NEW  FRIENDS  67 

"Well,"  said  Leon,  "who  are  your  friends  I" 

"Wood  cutters,"  replied  Jacques.  "They  are 
on  our  side  all  right,  but  they  mistook  us  for  Ger- 
mans at  first." 

"I  hope  they  won't  treat  their  other  friends 
the  way  they  did  us,"  remarked  Leon,  as  he 
spoke,  ruefully  rubbing  his  neck  where  he  could 
still  feel  the  effect  of  the  strong  grip  with  which 
he  had  been  seized. 

"Yes,"  continued  Jacques,  "they  saw  the  sad- 
dles on  our  horses  and  thought  of  course  we  were 
Uhlans.  Then  they  decided  to  fix  us  so  that  we 
could  do  no  harm." 

"I  thought  they  were  robbers,  or  outlaws,  or 
something  like  that,"  said  Leon.  "I  have  never 
seen  any  French  wood  cutters  before." 

"They're  not  very  handsome,  I  admit,  but  they 
are  good  people." 

"They  kept  us  from  our  breakfast,"  protested 
Leon.  *  'At  this  time  that  is  about  the  worst  thing 
any  man  could  do  to  me." 

"Never  mind,"  said  Jacques  laughingly,  "they 
have  invited  us  to  breakfast  with  them." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Let's  start  at 
once." 

The  two  young  soldiers  quickly  secured  their 
horses  and  a  moment  later  were  following  their 
newly  found  friends  over  the  rough  ground  to 
the  place  where  the  wood  cutters  lived. 


68    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

It  was  a  strange  procession.  The  six  great 
grizzled  peasants  led  the  way  in  single  file,  while 
close  behind  them  came  the  two  boys,  each  lead- 
ing his  horse.  Up  a  narrow  trail  out  of  the  ra- 
vine they  passed,  and  presently  once  more  found 
themselves  in  the  deep  woods. 

"What  were  these  men  laughing  at  when 
you  were  talking  to  them?"  asked  Leon  of  his 
friend. 

"I  was  telling  them  about  the  load  of  hay  and 
how  surprised  the  Germans  were  when  you  sud- 
denly burst  out." 

"They  liked  that,  did  they?" 

"I  should  say  they  did.  They  all  exclaimed 
that  they  wished  they  had  been  there  to  help  us 
make  prisoners  of  our  victims,  as  well  as  to  bring 
away  their  horses. ' ' 

"Well,  I  think  a  body  guard  of  a  few  men  like 
these  would  be  a  very  nice  thing,"  laughed  Leon. 
"What  do  you  say  to  our  bringing  them  along?" 

"It  would  suit  us  better  than  it  would  them,  I 
imagine.  They  are  a  strange  lot  of  men  and 
usually  very  ignorant. ' ' 

"Have  they  seen  any  Germans  lately?" 

"I  don't  know.  I  didn't  ask  and  they  said 
nothing  about  it.  They  did  say  though  that  they 
saw  large  bodies  of  troops  pass  to  the  south  some 
days  ago." 

"French  or  German?" 


NEW  FEIENDS  69 

' '  Both.  First  went  the  French  and  a  few  Eng- 
lish with  them.  Then  came  the  Germans.  Thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  them  the  man  said ;  thicker 
than  the  leaves  on  a  tree." 

"That  won't  help  us  to  reach  our  regiment  any 
sooner  than  we  expected,  will  it?"  exclaimed  Leon 
somewhat  dolefully. 

"No,  but  I  think  we  can  do  it.  Don't  worry 
just  now,  anyway ;  here  we  are  at  our  destination 
and  I'm  ready  to  eat." 

"We  didn't  leave  our  bacon  back  there  in  the 
ravine,  did  we?"  exclaimed  Leon  in  sudden 
alarm. 

' '  No,  indeed.  I  brought  along  all  the  food  that 
we  hadn't  eaten,  and  you  know  what  little  chance 
we  had  to  do  that. ' ' 

' 1 1  surely  do.     Let 's  hope  for  better  luck  here. ' ' 

Several  rude  huts  were  situated  in  a  clearing 
in  the  forest  and  here  it  was  that  the  wood  cut- 
ters lived.  Hewn  from  rough  logs,  with  the  cracks 
stuffed  with  sod,  the  little  houses  did  not  present 
a  very  attractive  appearance.  At  the  doors  of 
one  or  two  there  appeared  women  and  a  little 
group  of  children.  Unkempt  and  ill  fed  curs  ran 
out  to  bark  at  the  newcomers. 

"What  a  way  to  live,"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"It  is  pretty  bad,  isn't  it!"  said  Jacques. 
"These  people  are  pitifully  poor  and  I  should 
say  that  they  existed  rather  than  lived." 


70    WITH  JOFFKE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

" Everything  looks  dirty,  too,"  said  Leon.  "I 
wonder  if  we  can  eat  their  food. ' ' 

"I  can  eat  nails,  I  believe,"  exclaimed  Jacques. 
"Never  do  I  remember  having  been  so  hungry." 

"We  want  sleep  too,  you  know." 

"We'll  get  that  here,  aU  right." 

The  boys  tied  their  horses  in  a  low  shed  nearby 
and  a  few  moments  later  were  busily  engaged  in 
eating.  A  broth  made  from  vegetables  and 
stewed  rabbit  was  set  before  them  and  the  two 
young  soldiers  lost  no  time  in  testing  its  qualities. 

"I  don't  know  what  this  stuff  is,"  said  Leon 
after  his  first  few  tastes,  "but  I  do  know  that  it's 
mighty  good." 

"It's  rabbit  stew." 

"Where  did  the  rabbit  come  from?" 

"How  do  I  know!"  inquired  Jacques,  amused 
at  the  many  questions  his  American  comrade  kept 
asking.  "I  guess  they  poached  it." 

"You  mean  these  men  are  poachers?" 

"Probably." 

"Well,  it  doesn't  bother  me  any,  I  can  tell  you 
that,"  said  Leon  as  he  applied  himself  more  in- 
dustriously than  before  to  his  task. 

"Nor  me." 

Jacques  turned  to  the  woman  who  had  brought 
them  the  stew  and  told  her  how  much  they  liked 
it.  She  smiled  delightedly,  as  did  also  the  men 
who  were  standing  nearby  watching  the  boys  ap- 


NEW  FEIENDS  71 

pease  their  hunger.  Simple  folk,  they  seemed, 
but  hospitable  and  anxious  to  be  of  service. 

At  last  the  food  was  gone.  Sleep  was  the  next 
thing  that  suggested  itself  to  the  boys  and  they 
were  invited  to  occupy  two  bunks  in  one  of  the 
huts.  This  invitation  they  gratefully  accepted 
and  decided  to  retire  shortly. 

11  We  must  find  out  soon  what  we  are  going  to 
do,"  said  Jacques. 

"What  do  you  mean!" 

"I  mean  what  route  we  are  going  to  take  on  our 
way  south." 

"Don't  you  know  the  way!"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"I  thought  you  knew  all  about  it." 

' '  Not  at  all.  I  have  a  general  idea  of  the  coun- 
try, but  not  good  enough  to  tell  all  the  little  places 
we  must  go  through,  or  which  is  the  best  route 
to  follow." 

"How  can  we  map  out  a  route  anyway!"  de- 
manded Leon.  "We  don't  know  where  our  regi- 
ment is  and  even  if  we  did  know,  what  good  would 
it  do  us?  Just  because  they  are  in  one  place 
now,  doesn't  mean  they'll  still  be  there  next 
week." 

"That's  true  enough.    What  do  you  suggest!" 

"I  haven't  thought  much  about  it,  to  tell  you 
the  truth.  I  have  been  following  you  blindly." 

* '  Well,  I  have  a  plan, ' '  said  Jacques.  '  *  Tell  me 
what  you  think  of  it.  You  know  that  the  Ger- 


72    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

mans  are  sending  separate  armies  into  France, 
don't  you?" 

"You  mean  they  are  invading  from  different 
points  at  the  same  time?" 

"Exactly.  That  is  the  way  I  understand  it,  at 
any  rate.  My  idea  is  to  follow  the  route  of  their 
most  westerly  army ;  that  is  the  division  our  regi- 
ment was  pitted  against,  I  believe." 

"Either  that  or  the  one  next  to  it,"  agreed 
Leon.  "What  is  the  idea  in  following  the  Ger- 
man western  army  though?  Wouldn't  it  be 
shorter  to  head  straight  for  Paris  from  here  ? ' ' 

"It  is  shorter,  but  harder,  I  think.  You  see, 
if  we  follow  the  German  right  wing,  we  will  have 
enemies  on  only  one  side  of  us,  while  if  we  start 
straight  from  here,  we  will  have  them  on  all 
sides. ' ' 

"Quite  right,  and  I  guess  your  plan  is  the  best 
one  after  all." 

"Very  well,  then.  Let's  get  some  rest  now  and 
when  evening  comes  we'll  start  out  again.  Prob- 
ably one  of  these  men  will  guide  us  part  way  on 
our  journey.  At  least  he  can  put  us  on  the  right 
track." 

"All  right,"  said  Leon.  "That  sounds  like  a 
good  scheme.  The  first  part  of  it  is  satisfactory 
anyway. ' ' 

The  two  boys  arose  and  following  one  of  the 
wood  cutters  entered  the  low  door  of  one  of  the 


NEW  FEIENDS  73 

near-by  huts.  A  wide  bunk  at  one  end  of  the 
rude  house  was  offered  them  and  they  lost  no  time 
in  climbing  in.  Scarcely  had  their  heads  touched 
the  pillow  before  they  were  sound  a,sleep. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  BIDE   IN   THE    NIGHT 

WHEN  Leon  awoke  it  was  already  grow- 
ing dark  and  inside  the  hut  it  was  al- 
most impossible  to  distinguish  objects 
clearly.  At  first  he  had  no  idea  where  he  was 
and  he  sprang  to  his  feet  with  a  start.  Then  he 
suddenly  remembered  the  happenings  that  had 
brought  him  to  the  wood  cutters'  home  and  he 
looked  about  him  for  his  comrade. 

Jacques,  however,  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

He  was  not  inside  the  hut,  as  Leon  soon  dis- 
covered. This  fact  caused  the  young  American 
no  little  worry,  as  in  times  like  the  present  it  was 
never  a  certainty  that  any  one  was  safe. 

Leon  hastened  to  the  door  determined  to  find 
his  friend.  As  he  emerged  from  the  house  he 
spied  Jacques  approaching  with  one  of  the  peas- 
ants. The  young  American  heaved  a  sigh  of  re- 
lief at  his  discovery. 

"Hey,  there,  Jacques!"  he  called.  "I  thought 
you  were  lost." 

"Not  at  all,"  laughed  Jacques,  coming  up  to 
the  place  where  Leon  was  standing.  "I  woke  up 

74 


A  BIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT  75 

about  a  half  an  hour  ago  and  I  thought  I  would 
scout  around  a  little.  This  man  is  going  to  guide 
us  out  of  the  woods." 

"Good  for  him!    When  do  we  start!" 

"As  soon  as  we  have  had  something  to  eat.  I 
was  just  coming  to  wake  you  up.  When  I 
climbed  out  of  that  bunk  you  were  snoring  so  loud 
I  thought  at  first  one  of  those  German  forty-two 
centimeter  howitzers  was  bombarding  us." 

"Is  that  so?"  laughed  Leon.  "Perhaps  if  the 
Germans  hear  me  they'll  think  it's  the  French  ar- 
tillery and  run  away  from  us." 

"Well,  anyway,"  said  Jacques,  "I  have  found 
a  guide.  These  people  insist  that  we  must  eat 
dinner  before  we  start  out  and  this  man  has  of- 
fered to  show  us  the  way." 

"They're  mighty  good.  How  about  our 
horses?" 

"They  have  been  watered,  fed  and  rubbed 
down.  We  are  ready  to  start  at  any  time  now." 

"That  is  wonderful,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Let's 
eat  our  meal  and  be  off." 

They  were  soon  busily  engaged  in  disposing  of 
another  simple,  but  hearty,  meal,  and  as  they  ate 
they  discussed  their  plans. 

"We  want  to  reach  Douai  next,"  said  Jacques. 
"That  is  the  nearest  place  of  any  size  and  is  on 
the  route  followed  by  the  German  right  wing,  I 
think." 


76    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"We  don't  want  to  go  into  the  city  itself,  do 
we?" 

' '  Oh,  I  think  not,  but  I  mean  that  is  the  general 
direction  we  want  to  follow." 

"All  right,"  said  Leon,  "and  then  where  do  we 
go  from  Douai?" 

"We  go  to  Vitry  and  then  to  Arras.  Then 
down  through  Albert  and  Amiens;  then  on  to 
Paris." 

"Sounds  easy  enough,"  said  Leon.  "How  far 
is  it  from  here?" 

"About  a  hundred  miles  or  so,  I  should  say." 

"That's  quite  a  fair  walk." 

"I  know  it  is,  but  we'll  get  there.  Anyway  we 
have  horses." 

"Yes,  we  have  horses  now,"  agreed  Leon. 
"To-morrow  we  may  not  though." 

* '  Well,  you  know  that  song  the  English  soldiers 
were  singing  up  around  Mons,  don't  you!  'It's 
a  long  way  to  Tipperary,  but  my  heart's  right 
there.'  It's  a  long  way  to  Paris,  too,  but  our 
hearts  are  right  there,  and  we'll  be  there  too,  be- 
fore very  long." 

"I  hope  so.  Perhaps  we  won't  have  to  go  all 
the  way  to  Paris  anyway." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Jacques.  "Anyway  let's 
make  a  start  for  it.  Just  think  what  General 
JofF re  will  say  when  he  hears  we  have  forced  our 
way  from  Belgium  to  Paris  through  the  whole 


A  EIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT  77 

German  army.  He'll  probably  give  us  the  Legion 
of  Honor." 

"Wake  up,  Jacques.  You're  still  asleep,"  ex- 
claimed Leon  laughingly.  "  Where  are  our 
horses?  We  ought  to  be  on  our  way." 

A  moment  later  the  boys  were  seated  in  their 
saddles  ready  to  depart.  Their  guide  was  on  foot 
and  was  to  lead  the  way  through  the  forest,  while 
the  two  young  soldiers  followed  slowly  behind 
him.  The  wood  cutters  crowded  about  them  and 
wished  them  the  best  of  luck.  Jacques  thanked 
them  all,  in  behalf  of  himself  and  Leon,  for  their 
hospitality  and  then  they  started  off. 

Both  boys  were  in  fine  fettle  and  felt  ready  for 
almost  anything.  Two  hearty  meals  and  a  long 
sleep  had  put  fresh  life  into  them  and  they  were 
both  in  high  spirits. 

"It's  awfully  dark  in  these  woods,"  exclaimed 
Leon,  after  they  had  covered  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
or  more. 

"It  certainly  is.  What  do  you  suppose  we 
would  have  done  without  a  guide!" 

"I've  no  idea.  We'd  have  had  to  let  our 
horses  go  wherever  they  wanted  to,  I  guess.  I'm 
sure  I  'd  hate  to  try  to  find  my  way  through  here. ' ' 

"I'm  letting  my  horse  find  his  own  path  now," 
said  Jacques.  "I  hope  he  can  see  the  way,  for  I 
know  I  can't.  He  is  following  our  guide  all 
right." 


"It's  a  good  thing  we  have  these  horses,  isn't 
it!"  chuckled  Leon.  "Just  think  of  having  to 
walk  all  this  distance." 

"An  automobile  is  better  than  a  horse." 

"All  right,  then.    Let's  get  an  automobile." 

"Where  shall  we  find  onel"  inquired  Jacques, 
much  amused  at  his  friend's  enthusiasm. 

"How  do  I  know?"  retorted  Leon.  "Where 
did  we  find  these  horses?" 

"On  the  road,  of  course." 

"Well,  then,  that's  the  place  to  look  for  an 
automobile. ' ' 

"You  talk  as  though  it  was  easy,"  laughed 
Jacques.  ' '  Do  you  think  we  are  going  to  find  one 
sitting  by  the  roadside  waiting  for  us?" 

"You  never  can  tell,"  persisted  Leon.  "We 
might  run  across  one." 

"Do  you  think  we  could  run  it?" 

"Well,  if  you  can't,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Any  man  who  is 
an  aviator  in  the  French  army  and  can't  run-  a 
motor  car  ought  to  be  made  to  walk  to  Paris." 

A  weird  cry  suddenly  sounded  far  off  to  their 
right,  causing  both  horses  to  start  nervously,  and 
forcing  the  boys  to  give  all  their  attention  to  their 
mounts. 

Again  the  cry  was  heard,  this  time  apparently 
closer  at  hand  and  greater  in  volume. 

"What  is  that?"  exclaimed  Leon  nerv&usly,  as 


A  BIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT  79 

he  tried  to  quiet  his  horse,  which  was  shaking 
with  fear. 

"Wolves,  I  think,"  replied  Jacques.  He  spoke 
a  few  words  to  their  guide  in  his  native  tongue. 
"Yes,"  he  continued,  "that  is  a  pack  of  wolves. 
Our  guide  says  so." 

"They  won't  attack  us,  will  they?"  said  Leon. 

"I  don't  think  so.  I  knew  that  there  were 
wolves  in  these  forests,  but  I  don't  think  they'll 
bother  us.  In  winter,  however,  they  grow  very 
bold  sometimes,  especially  when  they  roam  in 
packs. ' ' 

Once  more  the  mournful  and  blood-curdling 
howl  of  the  wolf  broke  the  silence  of  the  night. 
The  two  horses  were  exceedingly  nervous  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  the  boys  restrained  them 
from  breaking  into  a  run. 

"There  are  several  of  them,  I  think,"  sug- 
gested Leon  in  a  low  voice. 

"Perhaps  so,"  replied  Jacques,  "but  we'll  soon 
be  out  of  the  woods  and  I  think  there  is  but  slight 
danger  from  wolves  at  this  time  of  year.  It  is 
only  in  the  winter,  when  they  are  made  desperate 
by  hunger,  that  they  are  bold  enough  to  come 
where  men  are." 

The  cry  resounded  through  the  forest  several 
times  more,  but  each  time  it  seemed  to  be  more 
distant  and  before  long  faded  away  entirely. 
The  horses  soon  became  quiet  and  the  journey  was 


80    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

resumed  in  peace.  In  a  short  time  they  reached 
the  edge  of  the  woods  as  Jacques  had  predicted, 
and  their  guide  prepared  to  turn  back. 

The  boys  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  and 
for  the  food  which  he  had  presented  them.  This 
supply  Jacques  now  was  carrying  in  a  pack  on 
his  back. 

A  long  white  road  stretched  before  them  and 
when  their  guide  had  indicated  the  direction  to  be 
taken,  he  waved  good-by  to  the  boys  and  entering 
the  woods  once  more,  disappeared  from  sight. 

"Well,  here  we  are,"  exclaimed  Jacques  at 
length. 

"Yes,  and  I  can't  say  I  am  as  fond  of  the  open 
road  as  I  am  of  the  woods,"  replied  Leon. 
' '  There  are  too  many  people  on  a  highway  like  this 
and  the  risk  is  much  greater." 

"That's  true  enough,  but  at  the  same  time  you 
must  remember  that  we  can  make  much  better 
time  here.  I  don't  know  how  we  can  avoid  the 
risk." 

"Neither  do  I.  We'll  have  to  be  more  careful, 
that's  all." 

Setting  spurs  to  their  horses  they  started  off 
down  the  road  at  a  brisk  canter.  The  night  was 
very  dark  and  very  still,  and  to  the  two  young  sol- 
diers it  seemed  as  if  the  hoof  beats  of  their 
mounts  must  be  heard  for  a  long  distance  around. 
They  realized  that  they  were  in  danger,  for  there 


A  BIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT  81 

are  bodies  of  stragglers  behind  every  army, 
especially  one  traveling  as  fast  as  the  Germans'. 
One  of  the  wood  cutters  had  told  Jacques  that  he 
understood  they  covered  between  twenty  and 
thirty  miles  a  day. 

This  man  had  hidden  in  the  woods  as  the  Ger- 
man masses  surged  past.  Often  he  said  he  had 
seen  some  of  the  men  in  the  ranks,  too  exhausted 
to  keep  pace  with  the  others,  urged  on  by  the 
swords  of  their  officers.  There  was  no  time  to 
sympathize  with  weaklings  and  every  man  must 
keep  going,  whether  he  felt  like  it  or  not. 

"The  German  army  is  certainly  a  wonderful 
machine,  isn't  it?"  Leon  exclaimed  suddenly  as 
he  recalled  what  he  had  heard  and  seen  of  it. 

"It  surely  is,"  replied  his  companion,  "and  I 
hope  that  no  part  of  that  machine  is  lurking 
around  here." 

"We  are  helpless,  if  they  are,"  said  Leon. 
"Any  one  could  hear  us  coming  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  down  the  road  and  just  sit  and  wait  for  us. 
I  don't  like  this  horseback  riding,  down  the  main 
highway  at  night,  with  the  thought  always  in  your 
mind  that  at  any  second  some  German  may  be  sit- 
ting by  the  roadside  aiming  a  gun  at  your  head." 

"What  can  we  do?"  protested  Jacques. 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure.  We'll  have  to  chance 
it,  I  guess." 

"We  can't  ride  across  country  very  well,  and  I 


82    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

hate  to  give  up  our  horses,  for  we  certainly  make 
much  better  time  this  way  than  on  foot." 

"If  we  only  had  an  automobile,"  sighed  Leon. 

"What  good  would  that  do  us!  We'd  still  be 
on  the  road  just  the  same." 

"Think  of  the  speed  we  could  make,"  Leon  in- 
sisted. "We  could  run  away  from  any  one  who 
chased  us." 

"That  depends  on  the  kind  of  car  we  had," 
laughed  Jacques.  "I  must  say  I've  seen  some 
machines  that  couldn't  run  away  from  anything." 

"Oh,  but  we'd  pick  a  good  one,  of  course." 

"I  hear  one  now,"  exclaimed  Jacques  suddenly. 

Both  boys  reined  in  their  horses  and  listened. 
Sure  enough,  far  down  the  road  ahead  of  them 
they  could  hear  the  whirr  of  a  motor  as  it  sped 
over  the  country.  Its  searchlight  flashed  against 
the  sky  for  a  moment  as  it  climbed  a  low  hill. 

"Quick,  Leon,  get  off  the  road,"  urged  Jacques. 

"Let's  stop  them,"  said  Leon  eagerly,  not  mov- 
ing an  inch. 

"Don't  be  a  fool !"  cried  Jacques,  as  he  spurred 
his  horse  ahead  and  hastily  made  his  way  to  the 
cover  of  some  near-by  trees. 

Left  alone,  there  was  no  choice  for  Leon  but  to 
follow.  A  moment  later  the  automobile  sped  by 
with  a  rush  and  roar.  As  far  as  he  could  dis- 
cover from  the  one  quick  glance  afforded  him, 


A  KIDE  IN  THE  NIGHT  83 

Leon  thought  there  were  only  two  men  in  the  car. 
tThey  were  evidently  in  great  haste. 

"You  see  how  easy  it  would  be,"  he  explained 
to  Jacques,  as  they  started  down  the  road  again. 
"All  we'd  have  to  do  would  be  to  stand  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  and  point  our  revolvers  at 
them.  They'd  see  us  in  the  glare  of  the  lights 
and  would  stop  quickly  enough.  Will  you  try  it ! " 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Jacques  cautiously. 
"It  seems  a  risky  sort  of  business  to  me." 

"Oh,  come  on,"  Leon  urged.  "We  can  do  it 
easily.  Will  you  try  it  on  the  next  one  that  comes 
along?  I'll  guarantee  it'll  be  all  right." 

"Here  comes  one  now,"  he  suddenly  exclaimed. 
"Are  you  with  me,  Jacques?  I  can't  do  it  alone, 
you  know." 

"All  right,"  cried  Jacques,  quickly  dismount- 
ing as  he  spoke. 

With  a  sharp  slap  on  the  side  the  two  faithful 
horses  were  sent  speeding  down  the  road.  Then 
drawing  their  revolvers  the  boys  took  their  places 
directly  in  the  pathway  of  the  approaching  auto- 
mobile. 


CHAPTEE  X 

A   NEW   CONVEYANCE 

"TTF  we  keep  our  nerve,  we're  all  right,"  ex- 
claimed Leon,  as  the  huge  car  thundered 

JL   down  upon  them. 

" Don't  worry  about  our  losing  that,"  replied 
Jacques  grimly. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  automobile.  It 
was  moving  at  the  rate  of  at  least  fifty  miles  an 
hour  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  to  the  two  young 
soldiers  in  the  middle  of  the  road  that  it  was  not 
going  to  stop. 

Suddenly  the  roar  of  the  motor  ceased;  the 
brakes  screamed  and  whined  and  the  car  came  to 
a  full  stop  not  ten  feet  away  from  them.  The 
engine  still  ran  smoothly  and  evenly,  however. 

"Quick,  Jacques,  run  up  to  the  car  and  disarm 
the  people.  I  think  there  is  only  one  man  in  it, 
though.  I'll  keep  him  covered." 

Jacques  sprang  forward  at  once,  still  keeping 
his  gun  gripped  firmly  in  his  right  hand.  Sure 
enough,  as  Leon  had  said,  there  was  but  one  man 
in  the  machine  and  he  was  the  chauffeur. 

84 


A  NEW  CONVEYANCE  85 

Calling  upon  him  to  surrender,  Jacques  sprang 
upon  the  running  board  and  pressed  his  revolver 
close  to  the  surprised  man's  ear. 

"Come  on,  Leon!"  he  called.  " There  is  only 
one  person  here." 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  cried  Leon  gleefully. 
"I  said  we  might  as  well  have  an  automobile  as  a 
couple  of  horses  and  here  it  is  already." 

He  jumped  into  the  tonneau  of  the  car  as  he 
spoke. 

"The  man's  a  German,  isn't  he?"  he  inquired 
of  Jacques. 

"Certainly.    Don't  you  see  his  helmet?" 

Their  captive  sat  silent  in  his  seat,  calmly  look- 
ing from  one  to  the  other  of  the  young  soldiers. 

"Take  his  gun  away  from  him,  Leon,"  cried 
Jacques.  "I'll  stand  here  and  keep  this  revolver 
pointed  at  his  head.  I  guess  that'll  keep  him 
quiet." 

Leaning  over  the  back  of  the  seat  Leon  quickly 
deprived  their  victim  of  whatever  means  of  de- 
fense he  had. 

"All  right,  Jacques,"  he  said.  "Now  what 
shall  we  do  with  him?" 

"Put  him  out  of  the  car." 

"Get  out,"  shouted  Leon  in  the  man's  ear. 

He  did  not  move. 

"He  can't  understand  you,  Leon,"  Jacques  re- 
minded. "Make  motions." 


86    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

* '  Get  out, ' '  repeated  Leon,  waving  his  arms  vio- 
lently as  he  spoke. 

This  method  of  communication  instantly  had 
the  desired  effect  and  the  German  rose  to  his  feet. 
As  he  did  so  he  leaned  forward  and  with  a  quick 
motion  did  something  to  the  mechanism  of  the 
car.  The  motor  began  to  slow  down  and  pres- 
ently stopped  entirely. 

"Stop  that!"  cried  Leon  angrily,  but  it  was  too 
late  to  prevent  the  man  from  accomplishing  his 
purpose. 

"Don't  worry,"  exclaimed  Jacques.  "I  know 
what  he  did." 

As  the  German,  grinning  maliciously,  stepped 
from  the  car,  Jacques  motioned  for  him  to  go  in 
front  of  the  headlights.  Following  closely  be- 
hind him  and  constantly  flourishing  his  revolver, 
the  young  Frenchman  made  his  captive  hold  up 
his  hands. 

"Now  you  keep  him  covered,"  he  said  to  Leon. 
"I  want  to  search  him." 

He  quickly  went  through  the  German's  pockets 
and  presently  uttered  an  exclamation  of  satisfac- 
tion. 

"Here  it  is,"  he  exclaimed,  very  much  relieved. 

"What  is  it?"  inquired  Leon. 

"It  is  what  he  took  out  of  the  car.  We'd  have 
been  helpless  without  it." 

"I  asked  you  what  it  was,"  repeated  Leon. 


A  NEW  CONVEYANCE  87 

"The  little  plug  that  furnishes  the  spark  neces- 
sary to  start  the  motor." 

"Well,  I  guess  we  do  need  that,"  exclaimed 
Leon  grimly.  "You  are  sure  you  can  run  the 
car,  Jacques?" 

"Positive." 

"What  make  is  it?" 

"It's  a  Benz.  I've  often  run  one,  and  I  know 
all  about  them." 

"That's  good,"  said  Leon.  "Let's  get  rid  of 
our  friend  here  and  start  on  our  way.  Somebody 
will  come  along  and  take  the  car  away  from  us 
if  we  aren't  more  careful." 

"Bight  you  are,"  agreed  Jacques,  "but  what 
shall  we  do  with  this  fellow?" 

"Leave  him  where  he  is." 

"We  might  take  him  along  as  a  prisoner." 

"What  could  we  do  with  a  prisoner  when  the 
German  army  is  between  us  and  our  troops?"  ex- 
claimed Leon. 

"I  guess  we  couldn't  do  anything,"  replied 
Jacques.  ' '  We  '11  leave  him  here  as  you  suggest. ' ' 

"Come  along,  then.  We  are  wasting  valuable 
time. ' ' 

A  moment  later  the  two  young  soldiers  were 
in  the  front  seat  of  the  automobile.  Jacques  had 
started  the  motor  and  was  at  the  wheel.  The 
German  who  had  previously  owned  the  machine 
stood  in  the  glare  of  the  searchlights  mournfully 


88    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

watching  his  enemies  preparing  to  make  off  with 
his  car. 

"Wait  a  minute,  Jacques,"  exclaimed  Leon 
suddenly. 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"Did  you  search  him  for  papers  of  any  kind!" 
Leon  continued  excitedly.  "He  might  have  his 
pockets  full  of  valuable  documents  for  all  we 
know. ' ' 

"Don't  worry  about  that,"  returned  Jacques. 
"When  I  was  looking  for  the  plug,  you  may  be 
sure  I  looked  for  papers,  too.  He  didn't  have  a 
thing." 

1 '  All  right,  then.    Go  ahead. ' ' 

The  car  started  slowly  as  Jacques  let  in  the 
clutch,  and  they  were  soon  turned  around  and 
headed  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  in 
which  the  car  had  come.  The  German  stood  by 
the  roadside  looking  very  dismal.  Leon  kept  his 
glance  fixed  upon  him,  however,  for  he  wished  to 
take  no  chances.  A  punctured  tire  or  some  simi- 
lar mishap  would  be  very  annoying  just  at  this 
time. 

The  German  made  no  move,  however.  He 
probably  appreciated  the  fact  that  one  unarmed 
man  has  no  chance  against  two  that  possess  guns. 
The  huge  Benz  thundered  off  down  the  road  leav- 
ing the  German  to  his  own  devices. 


A  NEW  CONVEYANCE  89 

" Perhaps  he'll  find  our  horses,"  remarked 
Leon. 

"He's  very  welcome  to  mine,  I'm  sure," 
laughed  Jacques. 

"We  ought  to  have  told  him  about  them.  That 
was  the  least  we  could  have  done  for  him." 

"How  could  we  tell  him1?"  exclaimed  Jacques. 
"Neither  one  of  us  could  speak  German,  and  he 
couldn't  speak  French  or  English." 

"That's  so.  Anyway,  I  am  satisfied  with  our 
trade." 

"This  is  a  wonderful  car,  all  right,"  remarked 
Jacques. 

"I  wish  my  brother  Earl  could  see  me  now," 
sighed  Leon.  "He'd  almost  die  of  envy,  I  think. 
Suppose  he  should  suddenly  appear  here  all  at 
once. ' ' 

"Where  was  he  when  you  last  heard  of  him?" 

"In  England.  That  doesn't  mean  he  is  still 
there,  though.  Personally  I  think  he  has  started 
out  to  look  for  me.  I  wrote  him  that  I  had  en- 
listed, you  know,  but  even  if  he  never  received  my 
letter,  I'm  sure  he'd  expect  me  to  do  that." 

"He  also  may  have  enlisted." 

"Quite  true.    I  shouldn't  be  a  bit  surprised." 

"If  he  has  enlisted  I  don't  believe  he  is  riding 
around  in  as  fine  automobiles  as  you  are," 
chuckled  Jacques. 


90    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE* 

"I  guess  not." 

"How  about  gasoline?"  exclaimed  Leon  sud- 
denly. 

"I  never  looked,"  said  Jacques.  "We'd  bet- 
ter do  it,  too." 

"We'll    never    get    any    more,    that's    sure. 
What's  the  use  of  looking?    All  we  can  do  is  to 
run  until  this  gives  out  and  then  we'll  have  to 
abandon  the  car.    Won't  that  be  a  shame?" 
1 l  We  may  not  be  forced  to  it,  however. ' ' 
"What  do  you  mean?"  Leon  exclaimed. 
"How  did  we  get  this  automobile?" 
"We  took  it  away  from  that  German." 
"Can't  we  get  gasoline  the  same  way?" 
"You  mean  hold  up  another  car  and  drain  the 
tank?" 

"Why  not?"  said  Jacques  calmly.  "I  see  no 
reason  why  we  can't  do  that,  and  as  you  say,  it 
would  be  a  shame  to  abandon  this  beautiful  ma- 
chine just  for  the  lack  of  a  few  gallons  of  gaso- 
line." 

"You're  all  right,  Jacques,"  exclaimed  Leon 
gleefully. 

"Say,"  he  added,  "isn't  this  a  lark?" 
"So  far  it  is,"  agreed  Jacques,  "but  things 
can't  go  on  like  this  forever,  you  know.  I've  just 
been  thinking  about  that  and  I'm  afraid  we  are 
due  for  an  awful  bump  soon.  Everything  has 
been  too  easy." 


A  NEW  CONVEYANCE  91 

"We  have  been  lucky,  haven't  we?"  said  Leon. 
"Still,"  he  added,  "you  can't  call  it  aU  luck  by 
any  means.  We  have  taken  chances  and  won  out. 
That  isn't  luck." 

"I  don't  care  if  it  is,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  "if 
it  only  keeps  up." 

The  two  boys  lapsed  into  silence,  as  they  sped 
over  the  highway.  Mile  after  mile  they  covered, 
the  powerful  car  seemingly  ignoring  all  the  diffi- 
culties as  well  as  the  distances.  Now  and  again 
they  approached  small  towns  and  after  their  first 
experience  they  usually  avoided  them  by  a  detour. 
The  first  town  they  had  come  to,  however,  they 
had  sped  right  on  through. 

As  they  thundered  along  the  single  street  that 
composed  the  little  settlement  they  had  been 
greeted  by  a  half  dozen  bullets  fired  at  them  from 
behind.  Consequently  they  took  no  more  such 
risks. 

Not  another  car  had  they  met,  and  they  both 
often  wondered  what  they  should  do  if  such  an 
emergency  should  arise.  Perhaps  they  were 
lucky,  as  Jacques  had  said. 

"There's  a  big  city  ahead  of  us,"  exclaimed 
Leon  suddenly. 

"Yes,  that  must  be  Douai,"  replied  his  friend. 
"We  had  better  take  the  next  road  to  the  left  and 
not  attempt  to  go  near  the  city." 

As  they  turned  from  the  main  road  a  few  mo- 


92    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

ments  later,  the  first  streaks  of  light  were  begin- 
ning to  appear  in  the  east.  Soon  it  would  be  day 
and  a  bad  time  for  two  soldiers  of  the  army  of 
France  to  be  on  the  road  in  that  part  of  the 
country. 

''Hadn't  we  better  stop  soon?"  said  Leon  pres- 
ently. 

"I  was  thinking  that  very  thing,"  replied 
Jacques.  ' '  I  had  thought  we  should  keep  on  until 
we  came  to  some  heavy  woods.  We  could  run  the 
car  in  there  and  hide  for  the  day.  Also  we  might 
keep  a  lookout  for  some  passing  automobile,  for 
we'll  need  gasoline  soon." 

"Can  you  run  the  car  into  the  woods,  though?" 

"This  car  will  go  anywhere,"  exclaimed 
Jacques.  "I'll  guarantee  to  take  it  into  any 
woods  you  select,  if  there  is  only  room  enough 
between  the  trees." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon.  "You're  the 
driver. ' ' 

Before  they  had  covered  many  more  miles  the 
day  had  broken  and  everything  about  them  was 
flooded  with  the  beams  of  the  early  morning  sun. 
Still  they  had  found  no  satisfactory  shelter,  and 
they  were  becoming  somewhat  worried. 

"I  think  I  see  some  thick  woods  ahead,"  re- 
marked Leon  at  length.  "It's  about  time  we  were 
out  of  sight,  too." 

"These  are  all  right,"  said  Jacques,  as  a  mo- 


93 

ment  later  they  reached  the  spot  Leon  had  indi- 
cated. 

There  was  a  strip  of  woods  on  both  sides  of 
the  road.  They  were  filled  with  large  trees  and 
considerable  underbrush  was  to  be  seen,  which 
promised  an  excellent  refuge  for  the  two  young 
soldiers  and  their  captured  automobile.  Just  be- 
yond the  patch  of  woods  was  a  large  open  field, 
evidently  a  part  of  a  near-by  farm. 

Jacques  ran  the  car  slowly  along,  looking  for  a 
suitable  place  to  turn  in.  He  had  found  what  he 
wanted  when  Leon  suddenly  grasped  him  by  the 
arm. 

' '  Stop  the  car,  Jacques !  Quick ! "  he  exclaimed 
in  a  low  voice,  pointing  directly  in  front  of  him 
as  he  spoke. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  BOLD  PLAN 

JACQUES  quickly  followed  his  friend 's  sug- 
gestion and  peered  eagerly  in  the  direction 
Leon  indicated. 

At  first  he  saw  nothing. 

"What  is  it?"  he  exclaimed. 

" Don't  you  see?"  cried  Leon.  "Look  there. 
Eight  through  that  break  in  the  trees." 

"I  don't  see  anything,"  said  Jacques.  "Yes, 
I  do,  too,"  he  added  an  instant  later.  "It's  an 
aeroplane. ' ' 

"It  certainly  is,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "and  it's 
coming  this  way." 

"Suppose  it  should  land  near  here." 

"I  was  just  thinking  of  that,"  remarked 
Jacques;  and  the  two  boys  looked  at  each  other 
knowingly. 

"Oh,  Jacques,  do  you  think  we  could?"  said 
Leon  excitedly. 

"Could  what?" 

"Capture  that  aeroplane,  of  course.  Isn't  that 
what  you  were  thinking?" 

94 


A  BOLD  PLAN  95 

"Yes,  that's  what  I  was  thinking,  all  right,7' 
replied  Jacques,  "but  I  don't  know  how  we  could 
capture  it  any  more  than  you  do." 

"Well,  let's  put  up  the  car  and  watch  it  any- 
way," exclaimed  Leon  eagerly. 

Jacques  quickly  turned  the  big  Benz  into  the 
woods  at  their  right.  Over  the  rough  ground 
they  went  until  they  reached  a  dense  thicket. 
Into  this  Jacques  forced  the  automobile  as  far  a's 
it  could  go,  and  then  the  two  boys  quickly  jumped 
to  the  ground.  To  cover  the  exposed  part  of  the 
machine  with  loose  boughs  was  the  work  of  but 
a  moment,  and  then  they  hastened  at  full  speed 
back  to  the  road  again. 

"Do  you  see  it?"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"No." 

"Let's  run  down  to  the  edge  of  that  big  field. 
We  can  see  more  of  the  sky  there." 

They  set  off  down  the  road  at  full  speed  and 
soon  came  to  the  border  of  the  woods.  They  did 
not  go  out  into  the  open,  however.  Eemaining 
under  cover  of  the  trees  they  skulked  along  the 
edge  of  the  forest,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  in  all 
directions  for  the  missing  aeroplane. 

"Stop  here,"  exclaimed  Jacques  at  length. 

The  young  soldiers  crouched  behind  a  dense 
clump  of  bushes  which  kept  them  out  of  the  sight 
of  any  one  in  the  field,  but  which  did  not  shut  off 
their  view  of  the  sky  or  of  the  country  in  any 


96    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

way.  Once  settled  there  they  eagerly  resumed 
their  search  for  the  aeroplane. 

It  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  however. 

"This  seems  sort  of  silly,"  said  Leon  after 
some  moments  had  elapsed.  "Here  we  are  wait- 
ing for  an  aeroplane  we  happened  to  see  flying 
overhead  to  come  and  land  right  at  our  feet.  I 
guess  we  were  too  enthusiastic." 

"It  looks  so,  doesn't  it?  As  you  say,  I  don't 
see  why  we  expected  it  to  land,  especially  right 
where  we  are.  What  were  we  going  to  do  if  it 
did  come  down  here?" 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,"  replied  Leon. 
"Perhaps  we  thought  the  aviator  would  turn  it 
over  to  us." 

"Very  likely,"  laughed  Jacques.  "The  men 
in  it  probably  knew  that  I  was  an  aviator  in  the 
French  army  and  could  drive  the  machine.  They 
also  knew  that  you  and  I  were  stranded  from 
our  regiment  and  were  anxious  to  get  back. 
Consequently  they  decided  to  turn  their  aeroplane 
over  to  us  in  order  to  help  us. ' ' 

"It  might  have  been  a  French  machine,"  said 
Leon,  smiling  at  his  friend's  remarks. 

"It  wasn't,  though,"  said  Jacques. 

"How  do  you  know  I" 

"I  saw  it.  It  was  a  German  machine  of  the 
type  they  call  a  taube. ' ' 


A  BOLD  PLAN  97 

"Well,  then,  maybe  you  couldn't  have  run  it 
anyway,"  remarked  Leon. 

"Don't  be  silly,  Leon.  Of  course  I  could  run 
it." 

"You  seem  to  have  a  lot  of  confidence  in  your 
ability,"  laughed  Leon. 

"Why  not?  I've  been  in  this  aviation  business 
for  some  time  now  and  in  order  to  be  a  success 
I  can  tell  you  it  is  necessary  to  know  all  about 
machinery  and  motors.  I'm  not  boasting  when 
I  say  I  could  run  that  taube  without  any  trouble." 

"Weir,  it's  gone,  anyway,"  sighed  Leon,  rising 
to  his  feet  as  he  spoke.  "We  might  as  well  go 
back  to  our  automobile." 

Jacques  also  arose  and  the  two  young  soldiers 
started  to  retrace  their  steps  through  the  forest. 

They  had  covered  only  a  few  yards  when 
Jacques  suddenly  stopped. 

"Listen,"  he  exclaimed. 

Both  boys  stood  still.  Over  their  heads  and 
from  high  in  the  air  came  the  whirring  sound 
made  by  the  propellers  and  motor  of  an  aeroplane. 

"They're  coming  back,"  cried  Jacques  excit- 
edly. "Come  on,  Leon." 

Quickly  scrambling  back  to  their  place  behind 
the  bushes  the  two  boys  peered  eagerly  upward 
for  a  sight  of  their  aerial  visitor. 

"There   it  is!"  exclaimed  Jacques  in   a  low 


98    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

voice,  as  he  spoke,  pointing  to  the  sky  directly 
about  them. 

"Yes,  but  they're  not  going  to  land,  I'm 
afraid." 

"It  doesn't  appear  so,  but  you  can't  tell  yet. 
They  are  about  a  thousand  feet  high,  I  should 
say. ' ' 

"Look,"  cried  Leon.    "They're  turning." 

"Yes,  sir,  they  are,  and  I  wouldn't  be  a  bit 
surprised  now  if  they  did  land  here  after  all. ' ' 

The  aeroplane,  resembling  a  great  buzzard  in 
its  flight,  described  a  circle  in  the  air  high  above 
the  heads  of  the  two  eager  watchers  on  the 
ground  below.  The  shape  of  the  taube  certainly 
gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  bird  and  its  flight 
seemed  to  be  as  steady  and  true  as  that  of  an 
eagle. 

"They  are  circling  around  here,  looking  for  a 
place  to  land,"  cried  Jacques. 

"Do  you  think  so?" 

"I'm  practically  sure  of  it." 

"That's  great,"  exclaimed  Leon  gleefully. 
"We  may  fly  to  Paris  yet,  Jacques." 

"Don't  be  too  sure,"  replied  Jacques  soberly. 
"They  haven't  even  landed,  and  if  they  do,  we'll 
have  no  easy  task  taking  the  machine  away  from 
them." 

"Oh,  we  can  do  it,"  said  Leon  confidently. 
"You  know  we  are  lucky." 


A  BOLD  PLAN  99 

"So  far,  yes.  This  may  be  the  time  when  our 
luck  changes,  though." 

"I  hope  not.  Anyway  they're  going  to  land, 
aren't  they?"  demanded  Leon,  watching  the  aero- 
plane intently. 

"Yes.  They've  shut  off  their  motor  now,  I 
think." 

"I  can't  hear  it,"  said  Leon,  listening  intently. 
"We've  got  a  great  chance  here,  Jacques,  and  we 
mustn't  make  a  botch  of  it." 

Both  boys  unconsciously  felt  for  their  re- 
volvers, at  the  same  time  keeping  their  gaze 
riveted  on  the  descending  aeroplane.  Around  and 
around  in  great  circles  it  went,  steadily  coming 
closer  and  closer  to  the  earth.  Finally,  with  one 
straight,  headlong  dive,  it  shot  downward  and 
landed  gracefully  in  the  field  not  two  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  place  where  the  boys  were 
concealed. 

It  ran  along  the  ground  for  some  distance  and 
then  came  to  a  full  stop.  Almost  immediately 
two  men  got  out. 

"What  shall  we  do  now?"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"Eush  them?" 

"Wait  and  see  what  they  do  first,"  cautioned 
Jacques. 

'  *  But  they  may  leave  in  a  moment.  We  mustn  't 
wait  too  long. ' ' 

"Well,  we  can't  charge  them  across  this  open 


100    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

field  very  well.  What  chance  do  you  think  we'd 
have?" 

' '  None, '  '  agreed  Leon.    ' '  If  we  only  had  a  rifle. ' ' 

"But  we  haven't.  Could  you  hit  one  of  them 
at  this  distance  with  your  revolver?" 

"Not  one  chance  in  a  thousand." 

"Nor  could  I.  Consequently  we  must  wait  for 
a  short  time  and  see  if  something  doesn't  happen 
to  our  advantage." 

"What  are  they  doing!"  said  Leon,  puzzled  by 
the  actions  of  the  two  aviators. 

"I  should  say  they  were  preparing  to  eat  break- 
fast." 

"I  guess  you're  right.  See,  they're  taking 
things  out  of  the  aeroplane.  Looks  like  a  loaf  of 
bread  and  a  can  or  something." 

The  two  Germans  busied  themselves  in  their 
task,  and  to  all  appearances  were  absolutely  un- 
conscious of  any  danger  lurking  near  them.  This 
fact  struck  both  boys  forcibly. 

"They  probably  think  that  the  whole  Allied 
army  has  been  driven  almost  to  Paris,"  remarked 
Jacques, '  *  and  that  there  is  no  danger  of  any  kind 
left  in  northern  France." 

"Well,  they'll  be  fooled  if  they're  not  careful," 
said  Leon  grimly. 

"Yes,  and  I  hope  we  are  the  ones  to  do  it." 

"We'll  never  do  it  sitting  here  like  this,"  ex- 
claimed Leon  impatiently. 


A  BOLD  PLAN  101 

"I  know  that,  but  what  can  we  do?" 

"Look!"  cried  Leon  suddenly.  "One  of  the 
men  is  coming  over  here." 

Sure  enough,  one  of  the  Germans  had  started 
to  walk  briskly  in  the  direction  of  the  hiding  place 
of  the  boys.  He  hurried  along  as  though  he  had 
some  definite  purpose  in  mind,  and  was  eager  to 
execute  it. 

"Do  you  suppose  he  has  seen  us?"  whispered 
Leon. 

"How  could  he?" 

"What  is  he  coming  over  here  for,  then?" 

"I  don't  know,  unless  he  is  coming  after  some 
wood  to  make  a  fire." 

"That  must  be  it,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "What 
shall  we  do  to  him?" 

"We  can't  shoot  him,  for  the  shot  would  alarm 
his  companion  and  he  might  fly  away.  We  must 
overpower  him  if  we  can  and  then  go  after  the 
other." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon,  "but  we  want  our 
guns  handy,  just  the  same. ' ' 

The  boys  lapsed  into  silence.  Crouching  be- 
hind the  thick  bushes  they  watched  the  German 
approaching.  Straight  toward  them  he  came,  un- 
concerned and  apparently  not  in  the  least  wor- 
ried. He  even  whistled  a  tune  as  he  swung  along. 

As  he  came  closer  and  closer  the  two  young  sol- 
diers prepared  themselves  for  the  attack. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AN   AMBUSH 

THE  German  was  barely  twenty  yards  dis- 
tant now,  and  as  yet  he  apparently  sus- 
pected nothing.  Ten  yards  away  from  the 
ambush  prepared  for  him  he  stopped  to  light  a 
cigarette  he  had  selected  from  a  case  in  his 
pocket. 

The  two  young  soldiers  noticed  this  fact  with 
satisfaction.  Neither  one  of  them  had  ever  used 
tobacco  and  they  knew  that  consequently  they 
would  be  in  better  condition  for  the  impending 
struggle  than  would  their  adversary. 

Breathlessly  they  waited  for  the  proper  mo- 
ment to  strike.  The  German  would  evidently 
enter  the  woods  about  ten  feet  to  the  left  of  the 
place  where  the  boys  were  hidden.  From  behind 
he  would  easily  be  able  to  see  them  and  if  he  did 
so  before  they  had  a  chance  to  overpower  him,  he 
might  alarm  his  companion.  It  was  necessary  to 
time  the  attack  for  just  the  proper  instant. 

As  he  came  even  with  their  hiding  place,  Leon 

involuntarily  started  to  rise  to  his  feet.    Jacques 

102 


AN  AMBUSH  103 

gripped  his  friend  firmly  by  the  arm  and  held  him 
back. 

"Wait  one  moment,"  he  whispered. 

The  German  walked  more  slowly  after  he  en- 
tered the  forest.  He  began  to  look  about  him  on 
the  ground  and  was  evidently  in  search  of  wood 
as  Jacques  had  surmised.  Leon  was  very  impa- 
tient at  being  held  back,  but  Jacques  held  him 
tightly,  and  as  the  young  American  could  not 
argue  at  this  time  there  was  nothing  left  for  him 
to  do  but  submit  to  his  comrade's  plan,  whatever 
it  might  be. 

"Now,  come,"  whispered  Jacques  fiercely,  at 
the  same  time  releasing  his  hold  on  Leon's  arms. 

Both  boys  rose  to  their  feet  at  once  and  made 
a  rush  at  their  enemy,  whose  back  was  now  turned 
to  them.  He  was  standing  ten  yards  or  more 
away,  unmindful  of  any  danger  whatsoever. 

At  the  sound  of  the  cracking  branches  and 
leaves  behind  him  he  whirled  suddenly,  but  too 
late  to  escape  the  onslaught.  Both  boys  instantly 
leaped  upon  him.  Jacques  dealt  him  a  crushing 
blow  with  the  butt  end  of  his  revolver  and  at  the 
same  time  Leon  tackled  him  around  the  knees. 
Never  in  all  his  experience  on  the  football  field 
had  he  thrown  an  opponent  quicker  or  harder  than 
he  did  this  aviator. 

The  German  lay  upon  the  ground  partly 
stunned  by  the  blow  he  had  received  from 


104    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

Jacques'  revolver.  Wasting  no  time,  the  boys 
quickly  removed  their  prisoner's  coat  and  bound 
his  arms  firmly  behind  his  back.  Then,  with  his 
belt,  they  tied  his  feet  securely  together  so  that 
he  was  absolutely  powerless  to  move. 

" Carry  him  over  here,"  exclaimed  Jacques. 

"Where  are  you  going  to  put  him?" 

"Just  over  here  behind  this  tree,  where  he'll 
be  out  of  sight.  His  friend  may  be  along  in  a 
few  minutes." 

They  quickly  lifted  their  prisoner  and  carried 
him  to  the  spot  Jacques  had  designated.  As  they 
put  him  down  he  opened  his  eyes  dazedly.  Up 
to  this  time  he  had  been  too  stunned  to  resist,  but 
now  having  regained  full  control  of  his  senses  he 
began  to  struggle  violently. 

The  two  boys  stood  over  him  with  drawn  re- 
volvers fully  prepared  for  any  emergency,  how- 
ever. 

"Do  you  think  he  can  work  himself  loose?" 
said  Leon. 

"Not  the  slightest  chance,"  replied  Jacques 
confidently. 

At  the  sound  of  voices  their  captive  stopped 
struggling  and  looked  up  into  the  faces  of  the 
two  boys. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  inquired  in  excellent  Eng- 
lish. 

It  was    a    decided    shock    to    the    two    young 


AN  AMBUSH  105 

soldiers  to  hear  themselves  addressed  in  this 
tongue. 

" Shall  we  tell  him?"  said  Jacques,  turning  to 
Leon. 

"Why  not!  He  is  tied  up  safely  and  can  do  us 
no  harm." 

"All  right,  then,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  "we'll 
tell  him  if  he  wants  to  know. ' ' 

"We're  two  soldiers  of  the  French  army,"  he 
continued,  addressing  the  German  at  his  feet. 
"We've  been  separated  from  our  regiment  and 
we  are  trying  to  find  it  again.  We  saw  you  land 
here  in  your  aeroplane  and  we  thought  that  if  we 
borrowed  it,  it  might  help  us  to  get  along  much 
faster." 

The  German  laughed  contemptuously. 

"What  could  you  do  with  an  aeroplane?"  he 
inquired. 

"Why,  the  same  thing  you  have  been  doing," 
replied  Jacques  calmly. 

"You  think  you  could  run  one  then?"  sneered 
their  captive. 

"Look  here,"  broke  in  Leon  hotly.  "My 
friend  here  is  an  aviator  in  the  French  army,  and 
if  you  don't  think — " 

"Don't  bother  to  explain  to  him,"  laughed 
Jacques.  "It's  none  of  his  business  who  we  are, 
anyway.  You  stay  here  and  watch  this  man 
while  I  go  and  keep  an  eye  on  his  friend.  It's 


106    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

about  time  for  him  to  begin  a  search  for  this  in- 
quisitive comrade  of  his. ' ' 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon.  "I'll  look  out  for 
him." 

Jacques  returned  to  his  post  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  leaving  Leon  to  deal  with  the  captured 
aviator. 

"Now  suppose  you  tell  me  who  you  are,"  sug- 
gested Leon.  "I  am  somewhat  curious,  too." 

"What  good  would  it  do  you  to  know  that?" 

"None  at  all,"  laughed  Leon.  "If  you  are 
ashamed,  don't  tell  me." 

"Look  here,"  exclaimed  the  German  hotly,  "it 
seems  to  me  you  are  a  very  confident  young  man. 
What  are  you  doing  in  the  French  army,  any- 
way? You  don't  look  like  a  Frenchman." 

"What  good  would  it  do  you  to  know  that?" 
mimicked  Leon. 

The  German  spluttered  with  rage,  but  he  was 
helpless,  and  Leon  enjoyed  this  show  of  temper 
on  the  part  of  the  prisoner. 

"You  speak  English  very  well,"  said  Leon. 

"I  went  to  Oxford,"  exclaimed  the  captive,  and 
then  realizing  that  he  had  disclosed  something 
about  himself  he  suddenly  became  quiet.  Try  as 
he  might  Leon  was  unable  to  draw  another  word 
from  his  prisoner. 

The  German  lay  quietly  on  the  ground  and 
Leon  soon  became  tired  of  merely  looking  at  him. 


AN  AMBUSH  107 

What  was  the  use  in  watching  him  further?  He 
was  securely  tied  and  unable  to  rise  to  his  feet. 
Certainly  he  could  not  escape.  This  was  what 
Leon  believed  and  he  decided  to  stroll  over  to  the 
place  where  Jacques  was  stationed.  Accordingly 
he  began  to  walk  slowly  in  that  direction. 

Scarcely  had  he  gone  ten  feet  when  the  captive 
German  began  to  yell  at  the  top  of  his  lungs.  He 
shouted  in  his  native  tongue,  but  it  was  easy  for 
Leon  to  believe  that  he  was  calling  for  help.  He 
knew  that  if  the  other  aviator  became  suspicious 
he  might  fly  away,  and  their  prize  would  be  gone 
forever. 

With  two  bounds  he  was  back  at  the  place 
where  his  prisoner  was  lying,  and  flinging  himself 
headlong  upon  the  German  he  clapped  his  hand 
over  his  mouth. 

"If  you  make  one  more  sound,"  he  hissed  in 
the  man's  ear,  "I'll  use  this  revolver  on  you  and 
it  won't  be  the  butt  end  of  it,  either." 

Quickly  feeling  in  the  pockets  of  the  German's 
coat  Leon  found  a  scarf.  With  this  he  gagged 
his  captive  so  that  he  was  soon  unable  to  talk 
even  if  he  had  so  desired. 

This  having  been  done  he  made  his  way  to  the 
spot  where  Jacques  was  crouching  behind  the 
bushes. 

"Why  did  you  let  that  fellow  yell  that  way!" 
demanded  Jacques  angrily. 


108    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"How  did  I  know  he  was  going  to  yell?" 

"You  should  have  known  there  was  danger  of 
it." 

"Did  you  think  of  such  a  thing,  before  you 
left  me?" 

"No,"  said  Jacques,  "I  didn't.  Don't  discuss 
it  now,  anyway.  Look  at  this  other  man  out 
here." 

"Did  he  hear  the  shout?"  asked  Leon,  as  he 
peered  out  upon  the  field  where  the  aeroplane  was 
resting. 

"Of  course  he  heard  it,"  said  Jacques  grimly. 
"I  think  they  could  have  heard  it  in  London.  I 
never  in  my  life  heard  such  a  loud  voice. ' ' 

"He  acts  as  though  he  suspected  something,  all 
right,"  exclaimed  Leon  after  a  brief  look  from 
their  hiding  place. 

"I  should  say  he  did.  See,  he's  looking  this 
way." 

"Yes,  and  here  he  comes." 

At  the  sound  of  his  companion's  voice  the  avi- 
ator that  had  been  left  with  the  machine  started 
quickly  to  his  feet.  Facing  the  woods  he  gazed 
intently  at  them  with  a  puzzled  expression  on  his 
face.  Evidently  he  was  undecided  whether  his 
companion  was  in  trouble  or  not,  and  he  was  wait- 
ing for  the  call  to  be  repeated.  Leon  already  had 
attended  to  that  part  of  it,  however. 


AN  AMBUSH  109 

The  German  stood  for  several  moments,  evi- 
dently listening  as  intently  as  he  was  able,  and 
then,  when  he  heard  no  further  sound  from  his 
friend,  he  started  to  walk  slowly  forward.  With 
his  revolver  in  his  hand  he  cautiously  picked  his 
way  across  the  field. 

"The  man's  a  fool,"  exclaimed  Jacques  in  a 
low  voice. 

"He  certainly  is,"  agreed  Leon.  "He's  brave, 
but  he's  a  fool." 

"Still,"  said  Jacques,  "I  don't  think  I'd  run 
away  just  because  I'd  heard  a  shout.  Especially 
if  I  was  almost  certain  there  was  none  of  the 
enemy  near-by.  That's  what  this  German 
thinks." 

"He's  so  exposed,  though,"  protested  Leon. 
"He  can't  see  us  and  we  can  see  him  perfectly. 
Our  position  is  certainly  far  superior  to  his." 

"Yes,  and  we  must  take  advantage  of  it,  too. 
This  man  is  armed  and  ready  for  anything.  We 
can't  afford  to  treat  him  the  way  we  did  the 
other." 

"It  seems  a  shame." 

"This  is  war,  Leon,"  reminded  Jacques.  "Do 
you  think  he'd  hesitate  if  he  was  in  our  posi- 
tion?" 

"I  know  he  wouldn't.    Are  you  ready?" 

"Let  me  give  the  word." 


UO  WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LI  N 1 

"All  right,"  and  both  boys  crouched  low  be- 
hind their  ambush,  with  guns  iii  their  hands  and 
fingers  on  the  triggers. 

The  German  had  covered  perhaps  half  the  dis- 
tance and  now  was  about  a  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant. He  stopped  and  called  the  name  of  his 
companion,  but  of  course  received  no  answer. 
Then  on  he  came  once  more.  He  was  near  on 
now  so  that  the  two  waiting  boys  could  see  him 
distinctly.  They  could  make  out  the  deadly 
whiteness  of  his  skin,  the  eager  gin  his 

eyes  as  he  peered  intently  into  the  ; 

Sixty,  fifty,  forty  yards  away  he  was.  Then  he 
was  only  thirty  yards  distant  and  still  Jacques 
made  no  sign.  It  seemed  to  Leon  his  comrade 
was  never  going  to  give  the  signal.  The  iiennau 
came  more  slowly  now.  He  was  evidently 
ous  or  suspicious. 

He  was  scarcely  twenty-five  yards  away  when 
Jacques  nudged  Leon. 

"Now,"  he  said  in  a  whisper. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A   FKESH   START   FOB   THE   FRONT 

THE  two  revolvers  spoke  at  almost  the  same 
instant. 
Neither  shot  went  true  to  its  mark,  but 
the  sharp  bark  of  the   automatics  brought  the 
German  to  a  sudden  halt.    He  raised  his  revolver 
and  fired  in  the  direction  of  the  tiny  puffs  of 
smoke    issuing    from    the    bushes.     The    bullets 
crashed  through  the  underbrush  above  the  boys' 
heads  while  they  returned  the  fire  vigorously. 

They  were  not  expert  shots  with  revolvers  as 
can  readily  be  imagined  from  the  result  of  their 
efforts.  The  German  was  unhurt  and  now  had 
turned  and  was  running  at  top  speed  across  the 
field.  None  of  his  shots  had  taken  effect  either, 
but  he  had  been  aiming  at  a  blind  target,  while  he 
had  afforded  an  excellent  mark  himself. 

"His  cartridges  are  gone,"  exclaimed  Jacques, 
springing  to  his  feet. 

"So  are  mine,"  cried  Leon  feverishly,  trying 
to  jam  a  fresh  supply  into  the  chambers  of  his 
gun.  "Fire  at  him,  Jacques!  Fire!" 

Jacques  needed  no  advice  on  this  score.    He 
111 


112    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

took  quick  aim  and  once  more  fired  at  the  fleeing 
German,  who  was  now  fifty  yards  distant  and  run- 
ning at  full  speed.  Evidently  convinced  that  he 
was  at  a  decided  disadvantage,  the  aviator  was 
risking  his  life  no  more  than  was  necessary.  He 
was  making  for  his  aeroplane  as  fast  as  his  legs 
could  carry  him. 

To  the  great  surprise  of  both  boys  Jacques' 
first  shot  was  the  only  one  needed. 

The  speeding  German  stumbled  momentarily, 
then  pitched  headlong  to  the  ground  and  lay  still. 

"You've  killed  him,"  exclaimed  Leon,  stunned 
by  the  full  realization  of  what  was  taking  place. 

"Don't  be  too  sure  of  that,"  said  Jacques. 
"You  know  how  one  of  those  Uhlans  up  in  Bel- 
gium once  fooled  us.*  This  man  may  be  only 
shamming. ' ' 

"You  hit  him  all  right,"  insisted  Leon. 

"Well,  if  I  did  it  was  the  best  shot  I  ever  made. 
Go  slow  now,  Leon,"  he  added,  as  they  started  out 
from  the  cover  of  the  woods,  and  began  to  walk 
across  the  field  to  the  place  where  the  German  was 
lying. 

"Keep  your  revolver  ready,"  cautioned 
Jacques. 

"No  need  to  worry  about  that." 

Slowly  and  carefully  they  made  their  way  over 
the  rough  ground.  They  were  now  within  fifteen 

*  See  "  The  Air  Scout." 


A  FEESH  START  FOR  THE  FRONT  113 

or  twenty  yards  of  where  their  opponent  lay.  He 
was  stretched  out  at  full  length  with  his  back 
toward  the  boys.  His  face  could  not  be  seen. 

" There's  his  gun,"  whispered  Leon. 

"Where?" 

"Lying  out  there  on  the  ground.  Don't  you 
see  it?" 

"He  may  have  another." 

"I  don't  believe  it.     I  think  you  killed  him." 

A  loud  groan  immediately  assured  the  two 
young  soldiers  that  this  was  not  the  case,  how- 
ever. 

"Look  out,"  cried  Jacques. 

"I'm  just  going  around  in  front  of  him,"  re- 
plied Leon.  "I'm  all  right." 

He  made  a  short  detour  and  approached  the 
wounded  aviator.  He  held  his  gun  ready  for  in- 
stant use,  however,  in  case  the  German  should  at- 
tempt a  surprise  of  any  kind.  Meanwhile  Jacques 
was  also  ready  for  any  emergency. 

When  the  German  spied  Leon,  he  merely  held 
on  to  his  shoulder  and  groaned. 

"He's  badly  wounded,"  exclaimed  Leon  as  he 
noted  a  thin  stream  of  blood  covering  his  enemy's 
shirt  with  its  crimson  stain. 

"Never  mind  that.  Search  him  first,"  di- 
rected Jacques. 

"Keep  him  covered  then." 

Leon  quickly  convinced  himself  that  the  Ger- 


114    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

man  was  not  armed.  His  only  weapon  had  evi- 
dently been  the  gun  which  he  had  discarded  as  he 
fell.  This  Leon  appropriated  to  his  own  use. 

"What  shall  we  do  with  him  now?"  exclaimed 
Leon. 

"Leave  him  where  he  is." 

"We  can't  do  that.  He'd  be  sure  to  die  out 
here  in  the  sun." 

"Do  you  think  he'd  worry  about  us  if  we  were 
in  his  place?" 

"Perhaps  not,  but  I  couldn't  leave  any  man  in 
this  condition." 

"You're  too  soft-hearted,"  said  Jacques. 
"You  forget  that  this  is  all  a  part  of  war,  and 
that  tenderness  and  war  don't  go  together." 

' '  That  may  be,  but  I  refuse  to  abandon  him  this 
way. ' ' 

"What  do  you  propose  to  do?" 

Leon  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment  in  his  ef- 
fort to  think  of  some  means  of  disposing  of  their 
wounded  enemy. 

"If  we  stay  here  much  longer,  some  one  may 
come  along  and  take  the  aeroplane  away  from 
us,"  remarked  Jacques,  somewhat  irritated  by  his 
companion's  delay. 

"I  know  what  we'll  do,"  exclaimed  Leon  sud- 
denly. 

"What  is  it?" 

"We'll  untie  our  friend  back  there  in  the  woods 


A  FEESH  STAET  FOB  THE  FRONT  115 

and  leave  him  to  take  care  of  his  companion. 
That's  the  best  we  can  do." 

"Do  you  think  it's  safe  to  do  that?" 

"Why  not?" 

"He  may  cause  trouble  for  us." 

"How  can  he?"  demanded  Leon.  ""We're 
armed  and  he  isn't.  I  don't  see  how  he  can  pos- 
sibly do  us  any  harm." 

"All  right  then,  if  you  say  so,"  agreed 
Jacques.  "Let's  not  waste  any  time  about  it, 
though. ' ' 

The  boys  immediately  set  out  for  the  forest, 
leaving  the  wounded  aviator  still  groaning  and 
moaning  on  the  ground. 

"Do  you  think  he's  badly  hurt?"  inquired  Leon 
of  his  friend. 

"I  don't  believe  so,  though,  of  course,  I  don't 
know  much  about  it.  It  strikes  me,  though,  that 
if  he  was  very  badly  wounded  he  couldn't  writhe 
around  and  make  as  much  fuss  as  he  has  been 
doing. ' ' 

"I  hope  he  does  recover." 

"Why  do  you  hope  that?  He  is  a  German  and 
our  enemy,  and  do  you  think  he  'd  feel  sorry  if  he 
had  shot  one  of  us  ? " 

"No,  of  course  not." 

"Then  what  is  the  matter  with  you?" 

"Well,"  said  Leon,  "this  seems  different.  In 
a  battle  there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men 


116    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

and  it  may  be  all  right  to  kill  people  then.  When 
there  are  only  two  on  each  side  I  can't  help  feel- 
ing as  if  it  was  cold  blooded  and  cruel." 

"You're  funny,"  laughed  Jacques.  "If  I 
didn't  know  you  as  well  as  I  do  I  might  think  you 
didn't  have  much  nerve." 

"You  see  what  I  mean  though,  don't  you?" 

"Yes,  I  do,  and  I  think  you  are  all  right  if  you 
don't  overdo  it.  First  of  all  we  must  look  out 
for  ourselves  though." 

"I  intend  to  do  that  all  right,"  said  Leon 
grimly. 

At  this  moment  they  entered  the  woods  and 
were  soon  standing  over  the  prostrate  body  of 
their  captured  German. 

"Hello,  Oxford,"  Leon  greeted  him  banter- 
ingly.  "Have  you  felt  lonesome  without  me  to 
talk  to  youT' 

The  German  merely  glared  at  Leon  and  made 
no  reply. 

"Oh,  come,"  urged  Leon,  "don't  be  angry. 
We've  returned  to  untie  you  and  let  you  go. 
Aren't  you  glad?" 

At  these  words  their  captive's  eyes  gleamed, 
but  he  made  no  sound. 

"We  haven't  much  time,  Leon,"  said  Jacques. 
"Let's  get  to  work." 

"All  right.  I'll  roll  him  over  and  you  untie 
him." 


A  FRESH  STAET  FOE  THE  FRONT  117 

The  German  had  been  lying  flat  on  his  back. 
Leon  quickly  grasped  him  by  the  arm,  however, 
and  turned  him  over  so  that  he  rested  face  down- 
ward. It  was  but  the  work  of  a  moment  to  re- 
lease his  arms  and  when  this  was  done  the  two 
young  soldiers  prepared  to  depart. 

"You  can  untie  your  feet  yourself,"  remarked 
Leon. 

"Where's  Karl?"  exclaimed  the  German  sud- 
denly. 

"Who's  Karl?" 

"My  friend  who  was  with  me." 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Leon  as  if  suddenly  remem- 
bering something.  "You'll  find  Karl  resting  out 
in  the  middle  of  the  field.  He's  probably  waiting 
for  you  and  I  feel  sure  he'll  be  glad  to  see  you 
again. ' ' 

The  German  merely  growled  something  under 
his  breath  while  he  worked  hard  to  loosen  the 
strap  which  held  his  ankles. 

"We'll  make  you  a  present  of  something  be- 
fore we  leave,  too,"  said  Jacques. 

The  German  looked  at  him  suspiciously. 

"Yes,"  continued  Jacques,  "we'll  make  you  a 
present.  At  least,  it  is  more  of  a  trade  than  a 
present.  We  intend  to  take  your  aeroplane  so 
we  '11  give  you  our  automobile.  If  you  walk  about 
two  hundred  yards  in  that  direction,"  and  he 
pointed  toward  the  woods  as  he  spoke,  "you'll 


118    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

find  a  nice  big  Benz  automobile  in  the  middle  of 
a  clump  of  bushes.  We  have  no  further  use  for 
it,  so  if  you  think  you'd  like  to  have  it,  you're 
very  welcome,  I'm  sure." 

"That's  the  truth,"  added  Leon  seriously,  for 
it  was  evident  the  German  did  not  believe  what 
Jacques  had  said. 

"Will  it  run!"  asked  the  German,  only  half 
convinced. 

"It  surely  will,"  said  Jacques.  "It's  a  beauti- 
ful car,  too.  There  may  not  be  much  gasoline  in 
the  tank,  but  otherwise  it 's  in  fine  condition. ' ' 

"Good-by  and  gaod  luck  to  you,"  smiled  Leon 
as  he  and  Jacques  started  to  walk  away.  The 
German  paid  no  attention  to  him,  however,  but 
merely  busied  himself  in  brushing  off  his  clothes, 
and  stretching  his  limbs  which  were  cramped 
from  long  being  in  one  position. 

"I'd  love  to  stay  and  tease  the  fellow  some 
more,"  chuckled  Leon.  "I  never  saw  a  man  get 
so  mad  when  you  make  fun  of  him. ' ' 

"You  wouldn't  tease  him  if  he  didn't  get  mad, 
I  suppose,"  laughed  Jacques. 

"Of  course  not.  There's  no  fun  in  it  if  the 
person  you  are  teasing  doesn  't  pay  any  attention 
to  you." 

"Look  at  our  wounded  friend,"  exclaimed 
Jacques  suddenly. 

The  two  young  soldiers  had  just  emerged  from 


A  FRESH  STAKT  FOR  THE  FRONT  119 

the  woods  and  were  surprised  to  see  the  man  they 
had  left  writhing  in  pain,  sitting  up  and  looking 
all  about  him. 

"I  guess  he  wasn't  as  badly  hurt  as  we  thought, 
was  he?"  said  Leon. 

"It  doesn't  look  so,  and  I  think  you  need  worry 
about  him  no  more.  He  and  his  cheerful  friend 
in  the  woods  will  soon  be  speeding  down  the  road 
in  their  new  automobile." 

"We'd  better  speed  away  in  our  new  aero- 
plane," exclaimed  Leon. 

"Right  you  are,  and  the  sooner  the  better." 

"Suppose  we  can't  start  it." 

"Don't  think  of  such  a  thing  at  a  time  like 
this." 

"I  don't  want  to.  I  certainly  hope  we  have  no 
trouble." 

They  had  come  to  the  place  where  the  taube 
was  resting  and  Jacques,  with  a  critical  eye,  was 
soon  inspecting  the  engine.  He  tested  the  cylin- 
ders and  the  many  delicate  little  mechanisms  at- 
tached to  the  motor. 

"How  does  it  seem!"  inquired  Leon,  who  had 
been  an  interested  spectator  of  these  proceedings. 

"First  rate.     Everything  is  in  fine  order." 

"Ready  to  start!" 

"Right  away.  We'd  better  dress  more  warmly 
though. ' ' 

In  the  car  of  the  aeroplane  they  found  sweaters 


120    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

and  heavy  jackets.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  ap- 
propriate these  articles  of  clothing  and  were  soon 
bundled  up  and  fully  prepared  for  the  cold  cur- 
rents they  were  sure  to  encounter  when  they  were 
high  in  the  air. 

The  engine  was  started  and  the  boys  took  their 
places  in  the  car. 

"This  seems  like  old  times,"  exclaimed  Leon 
delightedly. 

"Doesn't  it,  though!  This  certainly  is  better 
than  horses  or  automobiles,  isn't  it?" 

"I  told  you  we  were  lucky,"  insisted  Leon. 

"I'm  not  so  sure  of  it  even  yet,"  smiled 
Jacques.  "Are  you  ready?" 

"All  ready." 

Jacques  pulled  a  lever  and  the  aeroplane  shot 
forward  and  ran  along  the  ground  for  a  consid- 
erable distance.  Then  elevating  the  planes  the 
young  Frenchman  caused  the  taube  to  rise  from 
the  ground  and  sail  gracefully  into  the  air. 

Leon  turned  and  waved  his  hand  at  the  two 
Germans  on  the  ground  beneath  him. 


CHAPTEE  XIV 

THROUGH   THE   ATE 

"'IT  "IT   TTHERE  are  we  bound?" 
V/\/        "To  Paris,  of  course." 
y     y  "Do  you  know  the  way?" 

"I  think  so." 

"Well,"  said  Leon,  "do  you  think  we  can  fly 
that  far  in  one  attempt?" 

"I  see  no  reason  why  we  can't." 

"All  right,  Jacques.    I  leave  it  all  to  you." 

"Do  we  want  to  go  to  Paris,  though?"  ex- 
claimed Leon  a  moment  later.  "We  want  to  re- 
join our  regiment  and  if  we  run  across  the  French 
army  between  here  and  Paris  we  will  stop,  won't 
we?" 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course.  I  only  spoke  of  Paris, 
because  I  didn't  know  what  else  to  say." 

"Paris  may  have  been  captured  by  this  time." 

"Do  you  believe  that  it  has  been?"  exclaimed 
Jacques  angrily. 

"No,  I  don't." 

"Neither  do  I,  and  I  don't  think  there  are 
enough  Germans  in  all  of  Germany  to  take  Paris." 

"Let  us  hope  not,"  said  Leon  fervently. 

121 


122    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

They  had  risen  to  a  height  of  nearly  three  thou- 
sand feet  by  this  time  and  the  earth  beneath  them 
seemed  very  far  away.  Neither  boy  had  any  feel- 
ing of  uneasiness,  however.  Jacques  was  an  avia- 
tor by  profession  and  Leon,  acting  as  his  scout, 
had  accompanied  him  on  practically  all  of  his 
flights  in  Belgium  during  the  first  part  of  the  war. 
Consequently  they  were  experienced  in  the  art 
of  flying  and  confidence  usually  comes  with  ex- 
perience. 

"It  seems  good  to  be  up  here  again,  doesn't 
it?'*  exclaimed  Jacques. 

"It  certainly  does." 

"Let's  try  not  to  end  this  flight  the  way  we  did 
the  last  one  we  took  together.  Do  you  remember 
that?" 

"When  we  hit  the  tree,  you  mean?" 

"Yes,  and  what  was  it  that  made  us  hit  the 
tree?" 

"Why,  one  of  our  planes  collapsed.  You  know 
that  as  well  as  I  do." 

"What  made  the  plane  collapse?"  insisted 
Jacques. 

"Bullet  holes." 

' '  That 's  what  I  'm  getting  at.  How  did  we  hap- 
pen to  have  bullet  holes  there?" 

"Why,  the  Germans  shot  at  us,  and  happened 
to  hit  us,  that's  all." 

"Yes,"  laughed  Jacques,  "that  is  exactly  so. 


THROUGH  THE  AIR  123 

I  was  trying  to  make  you  admit  that  it  was  be- 
cause you  insisted  upon  dropping  that  last  bomb 
that  we  happened  to  be  in  a  position  to  be  struck. ' ' 

"I  wonder  if  there  are  any  bombs  in  this  aero- 
plane," exclaimed  Leon. 

"I  don't  think  so." 

"I'm  going  to  look  anyway." 

"Well,  if  you  do  find  any  we'll  take  good  care 
to  be  high  enough  up  in  the  air  so  as  to  be  well 
out  of  range  of  any  German  guns.  I  want  to 
reach  Paris." 

"There  are  none  here,"  said  Leon  a  brief  time 
afterward  in  a  disappointed  tone. 

"I'm  glad  of  it." 

"Don't  you  like  to  drop  bombs  on  your  en- 
emies ? ' ' 

"Of  course  I  do,  but  just  now  my  one  ambition 
fcs  to  find  my  regiment." 

"We're  making  good  time  all  right.  What 
place  is  that  ahead?" 

"Arras,  I  should  say/'  replied  Jacques  after  a 
moment. 

Far  beneath  them  the  city  lay.  The  houses  ap- 
peared so  small  that  they  all  seemed  to  run  in  to- 
gether. People  on  the  streets  looked  to  be  the 
size  of  ants  and  without  the  aid  of  the  field 
glasses  Leon  had  discovered  in  the  aeroplane,  it 
would  have  been  difficult  for  him  to  distinguish 
objects  clearly. 


124    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"You're  going  directly  over  the  town!"  ex- 
claimed Leon. 

"Why  not?" 

"I  don't  know,  except  that  I  thought  there 
might  be  more  chance  of  being  shot  at  above  a 
town  than  in  the  country." 

"Is  any  one  looking  up  at  us?" 

"I  should  say  so,"  replied  Leon,  peering  down 
through  his  glasses.  "In  the  square  there  is  a 
big  crowd  of  people  and  they  are  all  looking  up 
and  pointing  at  us. ' ' 

"They  probably  think  we're  going  to  drop  a 
few  bombs." 

"I  wish  we  could." 

"Not  here  though." 

"No,  not  here,  but  on  the  Germans  when  we 
come  up  with  them." 

"We  may  not  see  any  of  them  at  all,"  said 
Jacques. 

' '  Why  not  ?    Where  could  they  all  disappear  ? ' ' 

"That's  not  it.  We  are  pretty  far  to  the  west 
to  strike  any  of  the  German  armies,  I  think.  I 
imagine  that  they  are  all  to  the  left  of  us." 

"Do  you  know  that  for  sure?" 

"No,  that's  only  a  guess,  but  it  seems  reason- 
able to  me." 

"Yes,  I  think  it  does,"  agreed  Leon.  "They 
all  want  to  keep  in  touch  with  one  another  I  sup- 
pose, and  if  one  division  got  'way  over  here  it 


THROUGH  THE  AIR  125 

might  be  cut  off  from  the  rest  and  either  be  forced 
to  surrender  or  be  destroyed." 

" Still,"  said  Jacques,  " there's  this  about  it. 
The  Germans  have  been  down  this  way  in  an  ef- 
fort to  outflank  our  troops.  If  they  succeeded 
in  that  it  would  be  pretty  serious  business  for  the 
Allies." 

"What  do  you  mean  ( outflank'  them?" 

"Why,  to  turn  the  flank,  to  get  behind  them  or 
on  one  side  and  force  them  in  toward  the  center. 
If  they  could  do  that  they  might  be  able  to  sur- 
round our  troops.  That  might  mean  defeat." 

"You  mean  that  Germany  would  win  the  war 
if  they  could  turn  the  flank  of  the  Allies  here?" 
demanded  Leon  in  astonishment. 

"I  do  not,"  said  Jacques  warmly.  "They'll 
never  win  this  war.  At  the  beginning  they  may 
have  more  success  than  we  do,  but  that's  because 
they  are  better  prepared  and  have  more  men. 
Wait  till  Russia  gets  going  though,  and  wait  till 
England's  army  begins  to  grow.  Then  you'll  see 
the  Allies  chasing  the  Germans  out  of  France 
instead  of  what  has  been  happening  here 
lately." 

"How  big  is  England's  army?"  asked  Leon. 

"You  mean  her  regular  army?" 

"Yes." 

"Not  over  two  hundred  thousand  men,  I  should 
say. ' ' 


126    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"Oh,  they  must  have  more  than  that/'  Leon  in- 
sisted. 

"That  doesn't  include  their  reserves  of  course," 
continued  Jacques.  "They  would  bring  the  total 
up  to  about  three  quarters  of  a  million." 

"England  hasn't  nearly  as  large  an  army  as 
some  of  the  other  nations  then?" 

"No,  she  hasn't,"  said  Jacques.  "Of  course 
I  haven't  included  their  troops  in  India  and 
Canada  and  their  other  colonies.  Before  very 
long  England  will  have  a  big  army  over  here  just 
the  same.  Don't  fool  yourself  about  that." 

"We  can  use  them  all  right." 

"I  guess  we  can.  We  don't  know  much  about 
the  situation  here  now  though.  Since  we  left 
Mons  we  might  as  well  have  been  in  South  Amer- 
ica for  all  the  knowledge  we  have  as  to  what  is 
going  on." 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Leon  confidently. 
"Just  wait  a  little  while  now  and  we'll  be  right 
in  the  thick  of  it  again." 

"We  will,  if  we're  lucky." 

"We're  that  all  right,  just  as  I've  often  told 
you  lately.  You  said  our  luck  was  not  going  to 
keep,  but  you  see  it  has.  Just  think  how  every- 
thing has  come  out  right  for  us  lately  and  how 
much  faster  we  are  traveling  than  we  expected. 
You  must  admit  you  never  thought  you'd  be  so 
near  Paris  by  this  time." 


THROUGH  THE  AIE  127 

"No,  I  can't  say  I  did,"  Jacques  admitted. 
"Still  I  don't  like  to  hear  you  talking  about  luck 
all  the  time.  I'm  afraid  it  will  change  if  we  do." 

The  aeroplane  now  was  racing  through  the  air. 
The  boys  were  comfortably  dressed  in  the  clothes 
they  had  appropriated  and  were  perfectly  happy. 
At  times  they  conversed  and  then  again  they  re- 
mained silent  for  some  moments,  while  they 
looked  at  the  fertile  green  land  beneath  them  and 
dreamed  of  the  time  soon  to  come  when  they 
should  have  another  chance  to  distinguish  them- 
selves on  the  battlefield. 

From  their  seats,  high  in  the  air,  none  of  the 
scars  of  war  could  be  seen.  The  little  villages 
seemed  to  be  peaceful  and  the  farmhouses  cozy 
and  comfortable.  The  country  appeared  fresh 
and  everywhere  beautiful.  Like  great  white  rib- 
bons the  roads  wound  their  way  in  and  out  among 
the  hills,  even  at  this  distance  giving  promise  of 
smoothness  and  comfort  to  those  who  traveled 
over  them. 

Leon  never  ceased  marveling  at  these  wonder- 
ful highways. 

"I  never  saw  such  splendid  roads,"  he  ex- 
claimed, turning  to  Jacques. 

"They  are  wonderful,"  said  Jacques  simply. 

"They're  certainly  fine  for  motorcycles  and  au- 
tomobiles. When  this  war  is  over  I  intend  to 
come  over  here  again  with  a  motorcycle." 


128    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

" There  may  be  no  roads  when  the  war  is  over," 
said  Jacques  sadly.  "  Think  of  the  thousands  of 
men  and  horses  that  are  marching  over  them; 
the  hundreds  of  ammunition  and  supply  wagons; 
the  great  guns  and  all  the  other  things  that  go 
with  an  army." 

"That's  right,"  said  Leon,  "the  roads  are  likely 
to  be  badly  torn  up,  aren't  they?" 

"I  should  say  so.  Just  think  what  some  of 
those  heavy  guns  would  do  to  a  road  in  wet 
weather  when  the  ground  is  soft." 

"The  only  way  to  save  them  then,  as  far  as  I 
can  see,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "is  to  drive  the  Ger- 
mans out  of  France  as  fast  as  we  can.  The  roads 
will  be  even  more  cut  up  when  winter  comes  and 
the  frost  gets  into  the  ground." 

"It's  easier  to  talk  about  driving  them  out 
than  it  is  to  do  it,  I  fear. ' ' 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  laughed  Leon.  "The  Al- 
lies will  soon  have  us  with  them  again  and  think 
what  a  help  that  will  be. ' ' 

"I  hope  we'll  soon  be  with  them  as  you  say." 

"How  far  are  we  from  Paris  now!" 

"Let's  see.  How  long  ago  was  it  when  we  left 
Arras?" 

"About  an  hour." 

"And  we  flew  over  Amiens  about  twenty  min- 
utes ago.  We  should  be  close  to  Paris  in  a  very 
short  time  now." 


THROUGH  THE  AIR  129 

' t  There 's  a  city  ahead  of  us  now.    What  is  it ! " 

"Beauvais,  I  think.  That's  about  half  way  be- 
tween Amiens  and  Paris." 

"This  is  somewhat  faster  than  being  on  foot, 
I  should  say,"  remarked  Leon.  "Think  of  the 
different  ways  we've  traveled  since  we  left  Mons. 
On  foot  at  first,  then  in  a  hay  wagon,  then  on 
horseback,  then  in  an  automobile,  and  now  in  an 
aeroplane.  Every  one  faster  than  the  one  pre- 
ceding it.  I  don't  see  what  we  can  do  next,  do 
you?" 

"I  hope  we  shall  need  nothing  more,"  laughed 
Jacques. 

As  the  aeroplane  came  closer  and  closer  to  Paris 
the  spirits  of  the  boys  steadily  rose.  They  felt 
that  they  were  nearing  the  end  of  their  journey 
and  they  were  both  impatient  to  be  back  in  har- 
ness once  more. 

"There's  a  river  ahead!"  exclaimed  Leon  a  few 
moments  later. 

"That's  the  Oise,"  replied  Jacques.  "A  few 
miles  from  here  it  joins  the  Seine  and  flows  down 
into  the  English  Channel  near  Havre." 

"We  must  be  very  near  Paris  then." 

"We're  almost  in  Paris.  I'm  going  to  turn 
east  here  and  fly  around  the  city.  We  haven't 
seen  any  troops  at  all  so  far  and  it  worries  me. 
I  say  we  look  around  a  little  before  we  do  any- 
thing else." 


130    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon.    "You're  the  boss." 

They  turned  and  headed  toward  the  east.  To 
their  right  was  Paris,  seen  dimly  in  the  distance, 
while  the  two  boys  in  their  aeroplane  merely 
skirted  the  suburbs  of  the  great  city.  Leon  kept 
a  sharp  lookout  below  him  for  signs  of  troops, 
but  he  saw  none. 

"All  the  houses  are  torn  down,"  he  exclaimed 
suddenly. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  exclaimed  Jacques  in 
astonishment. 

"Just  what  I  say.  All  the  houses  are  torn 
down.  Do  you  suppose  the  Germans  have  de- 
stroyed them!" 

"I  don't  know.  Perhaps  so.  Either  that  or 
the  French  tore  them  down  themselves  so  that  the 
buildings  would  not  be  in  range  of  their  guns. 
There  is  a  big  fort  three  or  four  miles  to  our 
right." 

"That  must  be  it,"  said  Leon.  "They  don't 
look  as  if  they  had  been  hit  by  shells.  They  are 
razed  even  with  the  ground." 

"We've  evidently  been  missing  something  by 
not  being  here,"  said  Jacques  anxiously.  "I 
hope  Paris  is  still  in  our  hands." 

"I  hope  it  is  too.  Do  you  intend  to  fly  all 
the  way  around  the  city?" 

"We'll  keep  on  until  we  discover  something." 

On  they  flew  steering  a  course  due  east. 


THROUGH  THE  AIR  131 

"There's  another  river,"  announced  Leon. 

"The  Ourcq,"  said  Jacques. 

"I  see  smoke  too,"  cried  Leon  excitedly. 
"Over  toward  our  right" 

"Much  of  it?" 

"I  should  say  so.  I  believe  they're  blowing 
up  the  whole  country.  I  can  hear  guns  too. 
Jacques,  we're  in  the  thick  of  it  again." 

"It  certainly  looks  so.  Now  what  we  want  to 
do  is  to  land  among  our  own  troops  and  not  among 
the  Germans." 

"There  seem  to  be  two  lines.  The  one  on  this 
side  must  be  the  German.  Fly  over  them, 
Jacques,  and  we'll  soon  find  out." 

"We'll  keep  well  out  of  range,  too,"  said 
Jacques  soberly. 

"There's  another  river  here,"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"I  never  saw  so  many  rivers." 

"That's  the  Marne.  That  joins  the  Ourcq  east 
of  Paris.  Can  you  see  whether  those  troops  be- 
low are  French  or  German?" 

"They're  Germans,"  said  Leon.  "The  others 
are  surely  French  and  we'll  soon  be  with  them." 

The  battlefield  below  them  must  have  been  a 
busy  place,  as  both  boys  agreed.  Great  masses 
of  troops  could  be  seen  intrenched,  while  a  cloud 
of  smoke  hung  over  all.  The  great  guns  belched 
forth  a  steady  stream  of  shot  and  shell  while  the 
roar  of  it  all  could  be  heard  even  at  the  height 


132    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

at  which  the  two  returning  young  soldiers  were 
flying. 

"I'm  going  to  land  now,"  announced  Jacques, 
when  they  had  reached  a  spot  somewhat  in  the 
rear  of  the  French  lines. 

Down,  down,  down  they  went  in  great  easy 
circles.  Leon  was  peering  intently  over  the  side 
of  the  car  when  suddenly  he  uttered  a  startled 
exclamation. 

"They're  firing  at  us,  Jacques!"  he  cried. 
"Our  own  troops  are  firing  at  us!" 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  ARRIVAL  AT  THE  MABNE 


'  *"^T  "TTO~U  don 't  mean  it ! "  exclaimed  Jacques 
^/  in  astonishment.  "They  can't  be  fir- 
JL  ing  at  us." 

At  the  same  time  he  unconsciously  pulled  the 
lever  and  caused  the  aeroplane  to  mount  rapidly 
higher  and  higher  into  the  air. 

"They  are  shooting  at  us,  just  the  same,"  said 
Leon.  "We'd  better  get  out  of  here  just  as  fast 
as  we  can  too.  Certainly  we  can't  land  here." 

"I  don't  understand  it,"  said  Jacques,  while 
as  he  spoke  the  taube  rocked  slightly  and  a  bul- 
let hole  appeared  in  the  tip  of  one  wing. 

"I  do,"  exclaimed  Leon  suddenly.  "We're  in 
a  German  aeroplane,  Jacques.  Why  shouldn't 
they  fire  at  us?" 

"How  stupid  we  are,"  cried  Jacques  disgust- 
edly. "We  deserve  to  be  shot  for  being  so  care- 
less and  so  silly." 

"Well,  we  stand  a  good  chance  all  right,"  said 
Leon  grimly.  "There  are  plenty  of  people  firing 
at  us.  Every  little  puff  of  smoke  I  see,  seems  to 

133 


134    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

be  aimed  directly  at  us.  How  soon  will  we  be  out 
of  range  ? ' ' 

"In  about  one  minute." 

"Don't  make  it  any  longer." 

It  was  an  exciting  minute  that  followed.  Leon 
could  plainly  see  that  they  were  the  target  for 
hundreds  of  guns  on  the  battleline  below.  As  he 
peered  anxiously  downward  he  wondered  if  the 
Allies  hadn't  forgotten  about  the  German  hosts 
that  opposed  them.  It  seemed  as  if  the  two  boys 
in  their  aeroplane  were  the  one  object  the  soldiers 
below  had  made  up  their  minds  to  destroy. 

Not  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below 
them  a  shell  exploded.  The  air  was  rent  by  the 
concussion  and  the  force  of  the  explosion  caused 
the  frail  craft  they  were  in  suddenly  to  drop. 
Only  the  skill  and  quick  wit  of  the  young  French- 
man at  the  wheel  saved  them  from  capsizing. 

Both  boys'  faces  were  white  and  set  as  they 
struggled  for  their  lives.  To  Leon  it  seemed  as 
if  hours  had  passed  since  his  comrade  had  last 
spoken  about  the  minute  that  must  elapse  before 
they  should  be  safely  out  of  range.  He  glanced 
frequently  at  the  bullet  hole  in  the  tip  of  the  wing. 
Would  this  prove  their  undoing  he  wondered,  as 
the  same  thing  had  so  nearly  done  in  Belgium  a 
abort  time  before? 

The  shell  that  had  so  nearly  caused  their  de- 
struction had  robbed  them  of  some  of  their  head- 


THE  AERIVAL  AT  THE  MAENE      135 

way,  as  well  as  forced  them  lower.  This  meant 
more  time  before  they  would  be  entirely  out  of 
range,  and  every  second  was  precious.  What  a 
horrible  ending,  thought  Leon,  to  be  killed  by  the 
guns  of  your  own  army. 

"We're  safe,  now,  I  guess,"  exclaimed  Jacques 
at  length. 

"Thank  goodness,"  sighed  Leon  in  great  relief. 

"Are  they  still  shooting  at  us?" 

"I  can't  tell.  They  are  quite  far  behind  us 
now." 

"We're  all  right,  I'm  sure." 

"Whew,  what  a  narrow  escape!"  exclaimed 
Leon.  "You  know,  I  feel  weak  after  that,  and 
I  never  hope  to  spend  another  five  minutes  like 
the  last." 

"Weren't  we  stupid?" 

"That  hardly  expresses  it,"  said  Leon  hotly. 
"We're  fine  soldiers,  we  are,  to  do  a  thing  like 
that !  Just  imagine  what  might  have  happened  to 
us." 

"Let's  try  to  forget  it.  Suppose  we  should 
reach  camp  and  tell  every  one  what  a  thing  we  did. 
Why,  we'd  never  hear  the  last  of  it." 

"And  we  don't  deserve  to,  either." 

"Just  think,"  said  Jacques.  "We  made  our 
way  from  Belgium  right  down  to  Paris,  only  to 
wind  up  our  journey  by  the  most  stupid  per- 
formance I  have  ever  heard  of.  We  are  the  luck- 


136    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

iest  people  on  earth  to  be  alive  now,  I  can  tell 
you!" 

"Ah,  ha,  at  last  you  admit  we  are  lucky,  do 
you?" 

"This  time  I  do,  but  our  luck  almost  left  us, 
didn't  it?" 

"It  certainly  did.  I  never  hope  to  come  so 
close  again." 

"Look  down,"  directed  Jacques.  "If  you 
don't  see  any  one  and  if  there  is  a  good  place 
nearby,  we'll  land." 

"Bight  beneath  us,"  exclaimed  Leon,  after  a 
hasty  examination  of  the  earth  below. 

"Sure  there  are  no  troops  nearby?" 

"Absolutely." 

The  taube,  in  response  to  Jacques'  manipula- 
tions, began  to  descend.  This  time  there  was 
nothing  to  interfere  with  their  descent  and  in  a 
very  few  minutes  the  two  young  soldiers  were 
once  more  on  solid  ground. 

"Now  what  shall  we  do  with  the  aeroplane?" 
said  Leon. 

"I  was  just  thinking  of  that,  and  I  don't  know 
what  we  ought  to  do. ' ' 

"We  can't  use  it,  that's  sure." 

"Nor  could  any  of  our  troops  use  it  very  well." 

"It  might  be  very  useful  in  scouting  over  the 
German  army.  None  of  their  soldiers  would  fire 
at  it." 


THE  ARRIVAL  AT  THE  MARNE      137 

"I  know,'*  said  Jacques,  "but  there  would  be 
too  much  confusion  and  risk  when  returning.  I 
think  we'd  better  destroy  it." 

"That  seems  a  terrible  shame,"  protested  Leon. 

"I  know  it  does,  but  what  else  can  we  doU  If 
it's  of  no  use  to  our  army  we  don't  want  to  run 
any  chance  of  having  it  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Germans  again.  I  guess  we'll  have  to  burn  it 
up." 

"All  right,"  Leon  agreed.  "How  are  you  go- 
ing to  do  it  ?" 

"No  trouble  about  that.  Have  you  any 
matches?" 

"Just  one,"  replied  Leon,  feeling  in  all  his 
pockets. 

" That 'U  do." 

Jacques  quickly  unscrewed  the  top  of  the  gaso- 
line tank.  Tearing  a  strip  from  his  shirt  he 
dipped  it  in  the  fuel  until  it  was  thoroughly  sat- 
urated. Then  he  placed  one  end  of  his  impro- 
vised fuse  in  the  tank  while  the  other  hung  loosely 
over  the  edge. 

"Now  we're  ready,"  he  exclaimed,  at  the  same 
time  lighting  one  end  of  the  strip. 

"We'd  better  run,"  he  cried,  and  both  boys 
sprinted  at  full  speed  for  about  forty  or  fifty 
yards.  They  stopped  then  and  turned  just  in 
time  to  see  a  great  flame  burst  from  the  gasoline 
tank  and  envelope  the  whole  aeroplane.  A  mo- 


138    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

ment  later  what  was  once  a  beautiful  piece  of 
machinery  had  become  a  twisted  mass  of  junk. 

' '  That  aeroplane  was  good  to  us,  and  I  'm  sorry 
to  see  it  go,"  said  Leon  sadly. 

"Yes,  it  was  too  bad,  but  we  did  the  wisest 
thing,  I  think." 

"No  doubt  of  it.  Now  let's  go  back  to  the 
battle  and  see  what  we  find." 

The  sound  of  the  firing  could  be  distinctly  heard 
as  the  two  boys  started  off  to  complete  what  they 
hoped  would  be  the  final  stage  of  their  journey. 
A  steady  rumbling  and  roaring  sound  informed 
them  that  a  great  battle  was  raging  not  far 
away.  The  earth  shook  with  the  force  of  the 
explosions. 

"How  far  away  are  we  from  the  battle?"  in- 
quired Leon. 

"About  five  miles,  I  should  say." 

""We'll  be  there  in  a  little  over  an  hour  then, 
won't  we?" 

"I  should  think  so.  It'll  be  dark  before  that 
time,  too." 

"What  do  we  care?"  laughed  Leon.  "It  may 
be  all  the  better  for  us  anyway.  Perhaps  they'd 
shoot  at  us  if  we  came  along  in  the  daytime." 

"I  can't  get  over  that  trick  of  ours,"  exclaimed 
Jacques.  "I  hope  no  one  will  ask  us  anything 
about  it." 

"From  the  sound  of  that  cannonading  I  should 


THE  AEEIVAL  AT  THE  MARNE      139 

say  that  those  people  up  in  front  of  us  had  all 
they  could  attend  to  on  their  own  account,  with- 
out bothering  with  other  people 's  affairs. ' ' 

" There  is  certainly  a  terrible  battle  going  on," 
exclaimed  Jacques.     "I  hope  our  men  are  win- 
ning.    So  far  everything  seems  to  have  been  in 
favor  of  the  Germans.    Think  how  far  they've 
come  since  we  saw  them  last." 
"All  the  way  from  Belgium." 
"I  should  say  so.    Isn't  that  awful!" 
"You  notice  that  the  French  still  have  Paris, 
though,"  remarked  Leon.     "I  think  we'll  drive 
them  back  yet. ' ' 

"How  did  they  get  'way  down  here  so  quickly?" 
"Easiest  thing  in  the  world.  They  had  more 
men  than  we  did,  and  we  couldn't  stop  them  till 
now.  If  the  Allies  have  collected  some  more 
troops  in  the  meantime  and  can  put  as  many  men 
in  the  field  as  the  Germans  have,  we  '11  drive  them 
back.  You  wait  and  see." 

"There  was  an  army  being  formed  in  Paris, 
I  know, ' '  said  Jacques. 

"Do  you  know,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "that  just 
before  we  crossed  the  Ourcq  River  I  thought  I 
saw  a  great  mass  of  men  off  to  our  right?  They 
seemed  to  be  coming  from  Paris.  Do  you  sup- 
pose that  could  be  the  army  you  just  mentioned?" 
"I  don't  know,  but  I  shouldn't  be  surprised 
if  it  was. ' ' 


140    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

" Let's  hope  they  do  their  part,"  said  Leon 
earnestly. 

The  two  young  soldiers  were  walking  briskly 
along  the  road  in  the  direction  of  the  battle. 
Louder  and  louder  sounded  the  roar  of  the  artil- 
lery as  they  came  nearer  and  nearer.  Uncon- 
sciously the  two  boys  quickened  their  pace  and 
hastened  forward.  The  smell  of  powder  and 
smoke  came  faintly  to  their  nostrils  and  acted 
as  a  spur  to  their  tired  feet. 

Neither  one  thought  of  food  as  they  walked 
rapidly  forward  in  the  gathering  darkness.  The 
roar  of  battle  was  in  their  ears  and  the  desire 
to  be  in  it  was  in  their  hearts. 

"We'll  soon  be  there,  I'm  glad  to  say,"  re- 
marked Leon. 

"Yes,  and  we  must  report,  the  first  thing  we 
do." 

"Where  shall  we  report f" 

"At  headquarters,  of  course.  You  didn't  ex- 
pect to  go  right  out  in  the  trenches  now,  did 
you!" 

"Why,  I  had  thought  something  of  doing  that," 
laughed  Leon.  "I  guess  I  don't  know  as  much 
about  military  matters  as  I  should." 

"Don't  let  that  worry  you,"  said  Jacques  re- 
assuringly. "You  know  all  that's  necessary  for 
your  work." 


THE  ARRIVAL  AT  THE  MARNE      141 

"What  is  my  official  standing  anyway!  Do 
you  know?" 

"You're  a  scout.  At  first  you  were  attached 
to  the  aviation  corps,  and  you  may  be  again  for 
all  I  know.  You'll  probably  be  kept  as  a  scout 
anyway,  though  this  time  it  may  be  with  the 
cavalry. ' ' 

"That  wouldn't  be  so  bad,"  Leon  remarked. 
"Still  I  think  I'd  rather  be  in  the  aviators'  divi- 
sion. ' ' 

"Perhaps  all  the  aeroplanes  are  destroyed  by 
now,  or  there  may  not  be  enough  left  to  go  around. 
.We  may  both  get  a  new  job." 

"Well,  I  don't  care  much,  though  I  do  hope 
things  will  be  arranged  so  that  we  can  be  together. 
I'd  feel  lost  without  you  now,  Jacques." 

"That  feeling  is  mutual,"  replied  the  young 
Frenchman  simply,  and  Leon  could  detect  a  slight 
catch  in  his  comrade's  voice  as  he  spoke. 

For  some  time  they  remained  silent  as  they 
cautiously  proceeded.  In  fact  the  roar  of  the 
battle  made  conversation  difficult.  The  rattle  of 
musketry  could  be  heard  frequently  during  a  lull 
in  the  firing  of  the  heavy  guns  and  mortars. 

"We  ought  to  strike  the  outposts  in  a  minute," 
exclaimed  Jacques,  making  himself  heard  with 
difficulty. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  they  came  in  sight 


142    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

of  the  battlefield.  It  was  so  dark  tliat  it  was  im- 
possible to  see  all  that  was  occurring,  but  the 
flash  of  firing  from  all  sides  made  it  very  evident 
that  the  fight  was  being  carried  on  in  deadly 
earnest. 

It  was  a  fascinating  yet  terrible  sight  and  both 
boys  stopped  short  and  looked  on  in  amazement. 
All  along  a  line  extending  a  seemingly  indefi- 
nite distance  the  French  troops  were  posted. 
The  heavy  artillexy  kept  up  a  constant  cannonade, 
but  the  fire  of  the  smaller  guns  seemed  to  be 
slackening. 

"The  fighting  is  slowing  down,  now  that  night 
is  coming  on,"  said  Jacques. 

"Well,  no  human  beings  could  keep  up  much 
longer  the  pace  set  here  a  while  ago,"  replied 
Leon.  "I  should  think  the  noise  would  drive  the 
men  in  the  trenches  crazy,  if  it  didn't  stop  once  in 
a  while." 

"Some  do  lose  their  minds,"  said  Jacques,  as 
he  once  more  started  to  walk  forward.  "Come 
on,  Leon ! "  he  called. 

They  made  their  way  slowly  toward  the  battle- 
line  and  the  place  where  just  ahead  of  them  they 
could  see  that  the  supply  wagons  were  stationed. 
At  least,  they  supposed  this  to  be  the  case,  for  it 
was  too  dark  to  see  distinctly. 

Perhaps  they  had  covered  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  yards  when  the  figure  of  a  man  suddenly 


143 

loomed  up  out  of  the  darkness  and  a  moment  later 
the  two  boys  were  looking  into  the  barrel  of  a 
long  rifle,  to  the  end  of  which  was  attached  a 
gleaming  bayonet. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TJNDEB  SUSPICION 

A  SHARP   challenge   was   flung   at   them 
through  the  darkness. 
It  was  in  French,  and  both  boys  in- 
stantly heaved  a  sigh  of  relief.    At  last  they  were 
back  among  the  Allies  and  their  troubles  were 
over.     How  little  did  they  suspect  what  was  in 
store  for  them. 

"Who  are  you?"  questioned  the  sentinel 
sharply. 

"We  have  just  rejoined  the  army,"  replied 
Jacques,  speaking  in  his  own  tongue,  for  evidently 
the  sentry  understood  no  other. 

"Why  were  you  absent  from  it?" 

"We  became  separated  from  our  regiment  in 
Belgium,  and  have  just  succeeded  in  forcing  our 
way  back." 

"You  have  no  uniforms  on,"  said  the  guard 
suspiciously. 

"We  were  in  the  aviation  corps.  We  did  not 
wear  the  regulation  uniform,  and  the  clothes  we 
had  are  now  in  rags. ' ' 

"You'd  better  tell  your  story  to  the  officer  in 

144 


UNDEE  SUSPICION  145 

charge,"  said  the  guard.  "Come  along  with  me, 
both  of  you." 

Walking  in  front  of  the  sentry  the  two  young 
soldiers  obediently  made  their  way.  Their  cap- 
tor marched  behind  them  and  directed  their 
course. 

"What's  the  trouble?"  asked  Leon,  who  had 
understood  nothing  of  what  had  passed  between 
Jacques  and  the  soldier. 

"He  suspects  we  are  spies  or — " 

' '  Silence  there ! ' '  commanded  the  guard  sharply. 

The  boys  quickly  obeyed  and  no  further  words 
were  spoken  by  them  until  they  arrived  at  their 
destination.  This  proved  to  be  a  country  house, 
about  a  half  mile  distant,  in  which  headquarters 
had  been  established. 

The  two  young  captives  were  led  inside,  de- 
prived of  their  weapons  and  then  locked  in  a  near- 
by room.  Putside,  sentries  could  be  observed 
walking  regularly  up  and  down  in  front  of  the 
house. 

"This  is  a  nice  fix,"  exclaimed  Leon,  flinging 
himself  down  upon  a  chair  at  one  end  of  the  room. 

"I  should  say  it  was.  I  must  say  I  never  ex- 
pected to  be  captured  and  held  as  a  spy  by  my 
own  army." 

"That  sentinel  was  a  fool,"  said  Leon  hotly. 
"He  ought  to  have  known  enough  to  realize  that 
we  are  all  right.  Do  we  look  like  spies  ? ' ' 


146    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  laughed  Jacques.  "If 
I  look  like  you  I  might  be  taken  for  almost  any- 
thing." 

' '  You  're  not  very  beautiful, ' '  said  Leon.  ' '  Per- 
haps we  do  look  suspicious.  Still,  I  don't  be- 
lieve we'll  have  any  trouble  in  proving  who  we 
are,  do  you  ? ' ' 

"How  are  we  to  prove  it?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  I  don't  see  how  we  can  help 
it.  Maybe  we'll  see  some  one  we  know  I'm  not 
worried  anyway.  I  think  it  is  a  good  joke." 

"I  hope  it  turns  out  that  way,"  said  Jacques. 
"Anyway,  there's  no  use  in  worrying.  I  think 
I'll  take  a  little  nap  here  until  they  call  us  again. 
No  man  can  tell  when  that  will  be. ' ' 

"A  good  idea,"  exclaimed  Leon;  and  both  boys 
were  preparing  to  stretch  themselves  upon  the  big 
double  bed  that  occupied  part  of  their  room,  when 
the  door  opened  and  a  soldier  summoned  them  to 
follow  him. 

Down  the  hall  of  the  great  country  house  they 
went,  until  they  came  to  the  end.  Here  they 
turned  to  the  right  and  were  ushered  into  what 
was  manifestly  used  as  the  dining  room. 

Several  officers  were  seated  about  a  table  from 
which  the  dishes  evidently  had  just  been  removed. 
The  men  were  studying  maps  and  glanced  up 
quickly  as  the  two  young  prisoners  were  led  be- 
fore them.  A  short  conversation  ensued  between 


UNDER  SUSPICION  147 

the  guard  and  the  gray-haired  officer  who  was 
apparently  in  command. 

"You  are  under  suspicion  of  being  German 
spies,'*  said  the  officer  sternly,  turning  to  the  two 
young  soldiers  who  now  were  standing  before 
him.  "What  have  you  to  say  for  yourselves f  " 

Jacques  acted  as  spokesman.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  Leon  to 
undertake  that  duty,  speaking  only  a  little 
French  as  he  did. 

"We  are  both  enlisted  in  the  French  army," 
said  Jacques.  "We  were  in  the  fighting  in  Bel- 
gium and  after  the  battle  at  Mons  became  sep- 
arated from  our  regiment.  We  have  just  suc- 
ceeded in  making  our  way  down  here." 

"You  came  all  the  way  from  Belgium?"  in- 
quired the  officer  skeptically. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Jacques. 

"Is  your  friend  here  French?"  asked  the  officer. 

"He  is  an  American,  who  enlisted  in  the  French 
army  while  he  was  in  Belgium  soon  after  the  war 
broke  out." 

"He  looks  like  a  German,"  remarked  their 
questioner.  "Tell  me  how  you  made  your  way 
from  Belgium  here  so  easily,"  he  went  on. 

"My  friend  here  was  wounded  at  Mons,"  be- 
gan Jacques.  "He  was  in  the  hospital  there  and 
when  he  was  discharged  he  started  out  on  foot 
to  rejoin  his  regiment.  I  had  been  separated 


148    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

from  my  division  and  also  was  stranded.    On  the 
outskirts  of  Mons  we  met  by  accident." 

"That  sounds  unlikely,"  sniffed  the  officer. 
"Don't  go  into  details  in  your  story.  Tell  me 
how  you  happened  to  be  here  in  the  rear  of  the 
French  lines  if  you  came  from  Belgium.  How 
did  you  manage  to  get  around  our  forces  and  ap- 
proach us  from  this  side?" 

"We  didn't  go  'round  the  lines.  We  came  over 
them." 

"Over  them?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Jacques.  "We  flew  over  in  an 
aeroplane." 

The  officer  laughed  heartily  at  this.  "I  sup- 
pose," he  said,  "that  you'll  tell  me  next  that  you 
were  in  that  German  taube  that  sailed  over  us 
this  afternoon." 

"That's  just  where  we  were,"  exclaimed 
Jacques  quickly. 

"Look  here,  young  man,"  said  the  officer 
sharply.  "I  don't  propose  to  have  you  make  fun 
of  me,  and  if  you  expect  me  to  believe  any  such 
ridiculous  statement  as  the  one  you  just  made, 
you  are  wrong." 

"But  I  am  telling  you  the  truth,"  protested 
Jacques. 

"Very  well,  then,"  sneered  the  officer. 
* '  Kindly  tell  me  where  you  got  the  aeroplane  and 
how  you  happened  to  be  able  to  run  it. ' ' 


UNDER  SUSPICION  149 

"We  captured  the  taube  near  Douai  from  two 
German  aviators.  They  had  landed  in  a  field  next 
to  some  woods  in  which  we  were  hiding.  We 
caught  one  of  them  and  bound  him,  and  the  other 
one  we  shot,  wounding  him  in  the  shoulder.  We 
appropriated  the  aeroplane  and  started  for  Paris. 
That  was  late  this  morning  and  here  we  are.  I 
happened  to  know  how  to  run  the  machine  because 
that  is  my  business.  I  am  a  member  of  the  avia- 
tors'  division,  attached  to  the  twentieth  army 
corps  of  the  French  army." 

During  this  recital  the  officers  gathered  about 
the  table  had  looked  at  the  speaker  in  amazement. 
Jacques  told  his  story  in  such  a  straightforward 
way,  however,  that  evidently  some  of  the  listen- 
ers were  inclined  to  believe  he  was  speaking  the 
truth. 

The  appearance  of  the  two  young  soldiers  was 
so  ragged  and  unkempt  that,  as  Jacques  had 
previously  remarked,  they  might  be  taken  for  al- 
most anything.  In  war  times  an  army  must  pro- 
tect itself  to  the  fullest  extent  of  its  power  also, 
and  no  chances  are  taken.  Naturally  the  officers 
were  careful. 

The  officer  in  charge  looked  at  Jacques  search- 
ingly.  "I  hope  you  are  telling  the  truth,  young 
man,"  he  said,  "for  if  you  are  not,  it  will  go  hard 
with  you  and  your  companion.  This  is  no  time 
for  fooling,  you  know." 


150    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"I  swear  I  am  telling  only  the  exact  truth/'  in- 
sisted Jacques. 

"What  is  your  name?" 

Before  Jacques  had  a  chance  to  reply  there  was 
a  commotion  at  the  door  and  all  the  officers  at 
the  table  sprang  to  their  feet.  The  two  boys 
turned  their  heads  to  observe  the  cause  of  this 
fresh  excitement  and  beheld  an  elderly  man  with 
white  hair  and  a  white  mustache  enter  the  room 
accompanied  by  two  aides.  He  wore  the  shoulder 
straps  of  a  general  and  as  he  walked  forward 
every  one  saluted. 

His  sharp  eyes  swept  the  room  and  every  one 
in  it.  Then  he  turned  to  the  officer  who  had  been 
questioning  the  boys. 

"Good  evening,  Colonel,"  he  said.  "What  is 
happening  here  I ' ' 

' '  These  two  young  men  were  brought  in  by  the 
guard  and  are  suspected  of  being  spies.  We  were 
questioning  them." 

The  general  looked  at  the  two  young  men 
keenly. 

"Tell  me  your  story,"  he  said. 

Jacques  once  more  related  the  story  of  their 
adventures  from  the  time  they  left  Mons  until 
they  arrived  at  the  Marne.  He  did  not  elaborate 
on  the  story,  but  neither  did  he  leave  out  any- 
thing. 


UNDER  SUSPICION  151 

"That  is  all,"  he  remarked  simply  when  he  had 
finished. 

The  general  for  a  moment  was  silent  and 
thoughtful.  "Nothing  you  have  related  is  im- 
possible," he  said,  "and  yet  it  is  a  thrilling  tale. 
What  is  your  name,  young  man?" 

"Jacques  Dineau." 

"Jacques  Dineau,"  repeated  the  general. 
"That  name  sounds  familiar  to  me,  and  yet  I 
can't  seem  to  place  it  exactly." 

"I  have  been  in  the  army  four  years,  your  ex- 
cellency," said  Jacques. 

"Where  did  you  serve?" 

"First  in  Morocco,  then  here  in  France.  Upon 
my  return  from  Africa,  over  two  years  ago,  I  was 
detailed  to  the  aviation  corps  and  have  been  there 
ever  since." 

The  general  appeared  to  be  trying  to  think  of 
something  that  had  escaped  his  memory.  The 
other  officers  regarded  him  curiously,  for  it  was 
evidently  not  his  custom  to  concern  himself  with 
every  suspect  in  this  manner.  Leon  was  at  a 
loss  to  understand  what  was  happening  about  him, 
and  he  wondered  who  this  distinguished  looking 
man,  whom  every  one  seemed  to  respect  so  thor- 
oughly, could  be. 

"You  say  you  were  in  the  fighting  at  Mons?" 
questioned  the  general. 


152    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"Yes,  General,"  replied  Jacques. 

The  general's  face  suddenly  lighted  up.  "Did 
not  you  and  a  comrade  save  a  French  flag  from 
capture?"  he  asked  quickly. 

"I  had  that  honor,"  answered  Jacques,  blush- 
ing deeply  at  the  mention  of  his  heroism.  "I  and 
my  companion  here." 

"I  knew  I  had  heard  your  name,"  exclaimed 
the  general.  "A  full  account  of  your  deed,  to- 
gether with  a  recommendation  for  promotion  were 
handed  me.  I  am  glad  to  meet  two  such  brave 
young  soldiers,"  and  he  shook  hands  warmly  with 
both  Jacques  and  Leon. 

"You  are  an  American,  I  hear,"  said  the  gen- 
eral, addressing  Leon  in  excellent  English. 

"Yes,  General,"  replied  Leon,  saluting. 

"Well  sir,  I  want  to  thank  you  for  your  de- 
voted service  to  us  in  these  troublesome  times. 
We  are  proud  to  have  such  soldiers  in  our  army. ' ' 

Leon,  who  had  caught  but  little  of  what  had 
been  said,  did  not  know  the  reason  for  this  dem- 
onstration and  merely  blushed  and  stammered 
in  reply. 

"Now,  Colonel,"  said  the  general,  turning  once 
more  to  the  officer  who  had  first  questioned  the 
boys,  "I  don't  imagine  you  want  to  detain  these 
young  men  any  longer. ' ' 

"I  should  say  not,"  was  the  hearty  reply,  and 
at  once,  not  only  the  colonel  but  all  the  officers 


UNDER  SUSPICION  153 

in  the  room  came  forward  and  cordially  shook 
hands  with  both  boys. 

"Where  do  you  expect  to  sleep  to-night1?"  asked 
the  colonel,  after  this  small  reception  was  at  an 
end.  The  general  who  was  responsible  for  their 
release  was  now  busily  engaged  in  conversation 
with  several  officers  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
room.  Dispatches  were  being  handed  to  him  and 
he  was  busy  poring  over  a  huge  map  spread  out 
in  front  of  him. 

"I've  no  idea,"  said  Jacques. 

* '  I  '11  see  that  you  are  kept  here, ' '  said  the  colo- 
nel, and  summoning  an  orderly  he  gave  a  few 
short  directions. 

The  boys  were  led  back  into  the  room  from 
which  a  short  time  before  they  had  been  brought 
as  prisoners.  Here  they  were  to  spend  the  night 
and  both  boys  looked  longingly  at  the  big  soft  bed, 
the  first  one  that  they  had  a  chance  to  sleep  in 
for  some  time. 

Clean  night  clothes  were  provided  for  them  and 
the  orderly  then  withdrew. 

' l  How  I  do  expect  to  sleep  to-night ! ' '  exclaimed 
Leon.  "By  the  way,  who  was  that  general  who 
was  talking  to  us  and  who  got  us  off?" 

"Don't  you  know?" 

"No,  of  course  I  don't." 

"That  was  General  Joffre,"  said  Jacques 
quietly. 


CHAPTER  XVH 

AT  HEADQUARTERS 

WHEN  Jacques  had  told  Leon  all  that 
General  Joffre  had  said,  the  young 
American  became  so  excited  that  in 
spite  of  his  weariness  he  had  great  difficulty  in 
falling  asleep. 

To  think  that  he  had  been  personally  congratu- 
lated by  the  comm ander-in-chief  of  the  Western 
Allied  armies!  What  a  story  that  would  make 
when  he  reached  home  again.  How  envious  his 
friends  would  be.  He  wished  his  brother,  Earl, 
could  hear  of  his  good  fortune.  And  what  would 
his  uncle  in  Paris  say?  Leon  almost  laughed 
aloud  as  he  thought  of  him.  "He'll  think  I'm 
about  the  greatest  man  in  the  whole  world,"  Leon 
said  to  himself. 

Then  he  remembered  what  Jacques  had  told  him 
about  promotion.  Suppose  he  were  to  be  made  a 
lieutenant,  or  should  be  decorated  with  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  It  all  seemed  too  wonderful  to  be  true, 
and  when  Leon  finally  fell  asleep  he  dreamed  all 
night  long  of  heroic  deeds  and  crowds  of  cheering 

154 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  155 

people  acclaiming  him  as  he  rode  through  the 
streets  of  Paris  in  his  triumphal  carriage. 

Both  boys  awoke  in  the  morning  greatly  re- 
freshed. At  first  they  could  not  recall  where  they 
were,  nor  how  they  came  to  be  there. 

The  sounds  of  distant  cannonading,  however, 
recalled  them  to  their  senses. 

"You  know,"  remarked  Leon,  "I  think  those 
guns  sound  farther  away  than  they  did  last 
night." 

"Yes,  I  think  they  do,"  agreed  Jacques,  listen- 
ing intently. 

"Perhaps  we're  driving  the  Germans  back." 

"Maybe  they're  nearer  Paris." 

"The  only  thing  to  do  is  to  get  up  and  find 
out,"  exclaimed  Leon,  springing  out  of  bed  as  he 
spoke.  "Come  on,  Jacques." 

"Oh,  I  hate  to  leave  this  bed,"  sighed  Jacques, 
slowly  following  his  friend's  example. 

A  bathroom  adjoined  their  bedroom  and  soon 
the  two  young  soldiers  were  preparing  for  a 
plunge.  A  long  time  had  elapsed  since  they  had 
been  able  to  indulge  in  such  a  luxury  and  it  was 
consequently  appreciated  all  the  more  on  that 
account. 

Returning  to  their  bedroom  they  found  there  a 
soldier  waiting  for  them.  He  had  brought  them 
new  uniforms  and  a  complete  change  of  clothes, 
so  that  they  were  soon  equipped  better  than  ever 


156    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

before.  As  soon  as  they  had  dressed,  they  sal- 
lied forth  and  obtained  breakfast.  This  accom- 
plished, they  were  at  a  loss  as  to  what  they  should 
next  do. 

"We  ought  to  report,"  said  Jacques,  "but  I 
don't  know  where  to  do  it." 

"Aren't  we  at  headquarters  now?" 

"I  think  we  are,  but  to  whom  ought  we  to  go? 
Do  you  know?" 

"I  have  no  idea." 

"Well,  we'd  better  find  out  at  once.  Let's  look 
around. ' ' 

"Down  this  way  first,"  suggested  Leon,  and  the 
two  young  soldiers  started  to  walk  down  the  wide 
hall  of  the  house. 

They  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  they 
met  the  colonel  who  had  questioned  them  the  night 
before.  They  saluted  and  he  stopped. 

"I  want  to  see  you  two  young  men,"  he  said 
pleasantly.  "Where  were  you  going?" 

"We  want  to  report,"  replied  Jacques,  "but 
we  don't  know  where  to  go." 

"That  is  what  I  wanted  to  talk  to  you  about," 
said  the  colonel.  "You  are  to  report  to  me  at 
noon  to-day,  in  the  same  room  in  which  we  were 
last  evening." 

The  officer  immediately  passed  on  down  the 
hall,  leaving  the  two  boys  to  their  own  devices. 

"Well,"  exclaimed  Leon,  after  Jacques  had  de- 


AT  HEADQUAETEBS  157 

livered  this  message  to  him,  "what  are  we  going 
to  do  until  noon?  That's  a  long  time  off." 

"Suppose  we  look  around  the  house  here  for  a 
while." 

"Won't  we  be  ordered  out  if  we  do!" 

"Ordered  out  of  the  house  do  you  mean?" 

"Yes,"  said  Leon.  "I  thought  maybe  they 
wouldn't  care  to  have  us  prowling  around  head- 
quarters when  a  big  battle  is  going  on. ' ' 

"All  right  then?  we'll  go  outside  and  see  what 
is  to  be  seen  there." 

They  sauntered  down  the  hall  and  out  to  the 
broad  veranda  of  the  chateau.  Broad  lawns 
stretched  away  in  front  of  the  house,  with  great 
trees  scattered  here  and  there  upon  them.  White 
driveways  wound  around  the  grassy  stretches, 
and  through  a  distant  gate  occasional  glimpses  of 
a  garden  could  be  had. 

Everywhere  bustle  and  activity  were  manifest. 
Automobiles  raced  in  and  out  of  the  grounds,  men 
on  horseback  galloped  hither  and  thither,  while 
noisy  motorcycles  buzzed  incessantly  back  and 
forth.  Every  one,  except  our  two  young  soldiers, 
seemed  to  be  in  a  hurry  and  to  have  plenty  to  do. 
They  were  apparently  the  only  idlers  on  the 
scene. 

* '  What  a  sight  this  is ! "  exclaimed  Leon.  ' '  Did 
you  ever  see  such  activity?" 

"Great  things  are  happening,"  replied  Jacques, 


158    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"and  it  keeps  a  good  many  men  busy  to  see  that 
everything  is  run  in  the  right  way." 

"It  certainly  seems  to,"  agreed  Leon.  "I  sup- 
pose General  Joffre  is  even  busier  where  he  is 
than  these  people  are  here." 

"There  is  no  question  about  that,  I  guess." 
"My!"  exclaimed  Leon.     "I'd  like  to  be  out 
there  on  the  battlefield  with  him  now." 
"On  the  battlefield?" 

"Why,  of  course.    Where  else  would  he  be?" 
*  *  Look  here,  Leon, ' '  said  Jacques.     ' '  Don 't  fool 
yourself  for  a  minute.     General  Joffre  is  not  out 
on  the  battlefield.    He  is  right  in  this  house." 
"What  do  you  mean  by  saying  that?" 
"Just  what  I  say.    He  is  in  this  house." 
"What  is  he  doing  here?"   demanded  Leon, 
much    surprised    at    his    comrade's    statement. 
"Why  isn't  he  out  where  he  can  see  what  is  going 
on?" 

"Because  this  is  the  place  for  him  to  be.    On 
the  battlefield  he  couldn't  see  what  is  going  on. 
Here  he  knows  everything  that  happens." 
"How  does  he?" 

"Upstairs  in  that  room,"  said  Jacques,  point- 
ing as  he  spoke,  "there  is  a  great  big  map.  That 
map  has  on  it  every  road,  canal,  railway,  river, 
hill,  clump  of  trees,  valley,  swamp,  bridge  and 
everything  else  you  can  think  of  that  is  in  the  dis- 
trict covered  by  the  battles." 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  159 

"That  can't  show  him  where  the  troops  are, 
though,"  insisted  Leon.  "They  are  changing 
positions  all  the  time  and  he  can't  possibly  follow 
them." 

* '  You  're  wrong  again, ' '  laughed  Jacques.  ' '  Let 
me  tell  you  something.  Besides  the  map,  there 
is  a  wonderful  collection  of  waxheaded  pins. 
They  are  of  all  different  colors  and  sizes  and  in- 
dicate the  different  kinds  of  troops.  These  pins 
are  placed  in  the  map  and  show  exactly  where  each 
division  is  stationed." 

"That's  wonderful,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "but  how 
can  they  tell  just  where  each  division  is  at  a  cer- 
tain time?  I  should  think  they'd  shift  so  quickly 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  keep  the  map  up 
to  date." 

"Not  at  all.  The  room  is  full  of  telephones  and 
there  is  a  telegraph  too.  Besides  the  regular  kind 
there  is  also  a  wireless.  Then  the  spies  and  avia- 
tors are  constantly  bringing  in  reports.  You'll 
find  that  that  map  is  as  accurate  as  anything  could 
possibly  be  under  the  circumstances." 

"Who  attends  to  all  that!" 

"You  mean  the  map!" 

"Yes.  "Who  changes  the  pins?  General  Jof- 
fre?" 

"No,"  said  Leon.  "General  Bertholet,  and  his 
aides  have  charge  of  that.  It  is  his  duty  to  keep 
the  map  in  such  shape  that  at  any  hour  of  the  day 


160    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

or  night  General  Joffre  may  look  at  it  and  abso- 
lutely rely  upon  it." 

1  'Who  is  General  Bertholet?" 

"He  is  Chief  of  Staff." 

"I  should  think  he  had  a  pretty  hard  job,"  re- 
marked Leon  thoughtfully.  "You  say  he  has  to 
have  the  map  ready  for  inspection  even  in  the 
middle  of  the  night?" 

"Why,  of  course." 

"I  don't  see  how  one  man  can  direct  all  that. 
When  does  he  get  any  sleep  ? ' ' 

"He  lives  in  his  pajamas  most  of  the  time, 
they  say.  He  may  be  asleep  when  suddenly  the 
telephone  will  ring.  General  Bertholet  jumps  out 
of  bed,  wide  awake  instantly.  He  learns  over  the 
telephone  that  a  battle  is  about  to  commence  and 
that  the  Germans  are  attacking  in  a  certain  place. ' ' 

"Who  is  it  that  telephones  to  him?"  inquired 
Leon. 

"Why,  some  man  on  the  battlefield,  or  near 
enough  to  it  for  him  to  know  just  what  is  going 
on  in  that  particular  place." 

"Where  does  he  find  a  telephone  on  the  battle- 
field?" persisted  Leon.  "I  suppose  there  must 
be  a  telephone  girl  and  a  private  booth  out  there. ' ' 

"Don't  be  silly,  Leon,"  protested  Jacques. 

"I  don't  see  how  it's  done,  that's  all." 

"Why,  every  army  has  a  field  telephone.  It  is 
connected  with  headquarters  and  is  carried  right 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  161 

up  to  the  battle  line.  Each  division  of  the  army 
has  a  telephone  so  that  at  headquarters  they  re- 
ceive reports  immediately  of  any  change  that 
takes  place  in  the  fight. " 

"That  is  wonderful,  isn't  it?" 

"Yes,  and  I  started  to  tell  you  how  it  all  works," 
said  Jacques.  "You  interrupted  me  before  I  had 
a  chance,  however. '  * 

"I  am  sorry,"  said  Leon.  "Go  ahead  and  I 
won't  stop  you  again." 

"Well,"  went  on  Jacques,  "suppose  General 
Bertholet  gets  a  report  that  the  Germans  are  at- 
tacking a  certain  division  and  also  that  they  have 
numbers  superior  to  the  French.  The  general  in 
command  of  that  division  wants  reinforcements 
at  once.  Very  well.  General  Bertholet  knows 
that  five  or  ten  miles  in  back  of  that  particular 
division  are  quartered  several  thousand  reserves. 
He  also  learns  from  the  pins  on  the  map  that  a 
number  of  autobuses  are  near  the  reserves.  He 
immediately  gives  orders  that  these  reserves  shall 
proceed  with  four  batteries  of  75-millimeter  ar- 
tillery, ten  machine  guns  and  three  squadrons  of 
cavalry  to  reenforce  the  division  that  is  in  need 
of  aid.  Before  ten  minutes  have  elapsed  several 
thousand  reinforcements  are  on  their  way  to  the 
front." 

"It  sounds  simple  enough,"  said  Leon. 

"It  is   simple   when  you  understand  how   it 


162    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

works.  Everything  is  done  right  from  here; 
every  one  knows  his  business  and  there  is  no  con- 
fusion. ' ' 

"Let  me  ask  you  something,"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"You  said  General  Bertholet  learned  from  the 
pins  that  there  were  autobuses  nearby.  I  thought 
you  said  the  pins  indicated  troops." 

' '  So  they  do.  They  indicate  autobuses  too,  and 
almost  every  other  thing  you  could  possibly  men- 
tion. Why,  they  even  show  the  size  of  the  guns 
and  the  kind  of  ammunition  used  in  them." 

"General  Bertholet  must  have  to  keep  very 
familiar  with  everything  on  the  map." 

"That  hardly  expresses  it,"  laughed  Jacques. 
"He  probably  knows  that  map  as  well  as  he  does 
his  own  face." 

"Yet  it  must  be  constantly  changing." 

"It  certainly  is.  Every  time  a  bridge  is  blown 
up  or  a  pontoon  thrown  across  a  stream  or  a  food 
convoy  changes  position,  General  Bertholet  shifts 
the  pins  on  the  map. ' ' 

"When  does  he  sleep  or  eat?"  inquired  Leon. 

"Whenever  he  can.  I  told  you  he  lived  in  his 
pajamas  most  of  the  time,  and  between  battles  he 
tries  to  get  a  little  rest.  He  is  up  and  down  pretty 
much  all  the  time.  I  guess  he  eats  the  same  way 
he  sleeps  and  that  is  whenever  he  can  find  two 
minutes  when  he  is  able  to  stay  away  from  his 
map. '  ' 


AT  HEADQUARTERS  163 

"It  must  be  good  fun,  though." 

"I  imagine  the  men  in  charge  don't  think  it's 
much  'fun.'  A  business  as  serious  as  war  can't 
have  a  great  deal  of  'fun'  in  it.  Everything  has 
to  be  absolutely  accurate,  too.  Just  think,  one 
mistake  in  that  room  up  there  might  cause  the  de- 
feat of  the  whole  army." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  Leon,  "and  think  of 
how  big  an  area  has  to  be  covered  all  the  time. 
How  long  is  the  battle  line  now  ?  Do  you  know  ? ' ' 

"Nearly  two  hundred  miles,  I  heard  some  one 
say." 

' '  What ! ' '  exclaimed  Leon.    * '  As  long  as  that  ? ' ' 

"It  extends  all  the  way  from  Paris  to  Alsace," 
said  Jacques.  "It  is  a  crooked  line,  too,  running 
through  Chalons,  Verdun,  Nancy  and  down  al- 
most to  Luneville.  That  must  cover  two  hundred 
miles  easily." 

"It  does  if  you  say  so,"  said  Leon.  "Those 
places  you  mentioned  don't  mean  anything  to  me. 
I  know  one  thing,  though,  and  that  is,  that  I'd 
like  to  be  out  on  that  line  somewhere  right  now." 

"What  time  is  it?" 

"About  quarter  to  twelve,"  replied  Leon,  con- 
sulting his  watch. 

"We'll  go  and  report  then.  Perhaps  after  we 
have  received  our  orders  we  may  find  ourselves 
on  the  firing  line  only  too  soon. ' ' 


CHAPTEE  XVIII 

IN   THE   TRENCHES 

PROMPTLY  at  noon  the  two  young  soldiers 
presented  themselves  at  the  door  of  the 
room  where  the  night  before  they  had  been 
cross-examined.  They  were  soon  admitted  and 
were  greeted  pleasantly  by  their  new  friend,  the 
colonel. 

"Are  you  young  men  ready  to  go  back  to 
work?"  he  asked. 

11  Indeed,  we  are,"  replied  Jacques.  "It  was 
for  that  very  purpose  that  we  have  tried  so  hard 
to  make  our  way  here  from  Belgium." 

"Very  well,"  agreed  the  colonel,  smiling  at  the 
young  soldiers'  enthusiasm.  "Your  regiment  is 
with  the  twentieth  army  corps  and  is  now  at  Bar 
le  Due.  I  suppose  you  would  rather  be  with  your 
old  regiment  than  any  other." 

"Yes,"  replied  Jacques,  "unless  you  want  us 
somewhere  else." 

"I  had  hoped  to  keep  you  here,"  said  the 
colonel.  "You  did  such  splendid  work  in  Bel- 
gium as  scouts  that  I  wanted  to  use  you  for  that 
same  purpose  now.  It  could  not  be  arranged  just 

164 


IN  THE  TRENCHES  165 

at  the  present  time,  however,  so  I  can  give  you 
your  choice.  I  can  send  you  wherever  you  wish 
to  go. ' ' 

"We'd  rather  go  back  to  our  own  regiment 
under  the  circumstances,  I'm  sure,"  said  Jacques. 
"When  do  we  start?" 

"You  seem  eager  to  he  off,"  smiled  the  colo- 
nel. 

"We  have  been  away  a  long  time,  Colonel," 
said  Jacques.  "We  are  anxious  to  be  back  in 
the  center  of  things  once  more." 

* '  That  is  the  right  spirit, ' '  exclaimed  the  colonel 
rising.  "Here  are  orders  for  you  to  secure  full 
equipment  and  you  will  be  notified  shortly  at  what 
time  a  troop  train  will  take  you  to  the  front." 

The  conversation  was  evidently  at  an  end. 
The  boys  saluted  and  turned  toward  the  door 
when  the  colonel  called  them  back. 

"I  nearly  forgot  one  thing,"  he  said.  "Both 
of  you  young  men  have  been  recommended  for 
decoration  for  bravery.  I  hope  that  very  soon  I 
shall  be  able  to  send  word  to  you  that  the  formal- 
ity of  granting  you  this  honor  is  over." 

The  colonel  bent  to  his  work  once  more,  leaving 
the  two  young  soldiers  standing  in  the  center  of 
the  room,  their  heads  swimming.  As  they  walked 
out  of  the  door  it  almost  seemed  to  them  that  they 
were  walking  on  air. 

"What  do  you  think  about  that?"  exclaimed 


166    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

Jacques,  when  he  had  translated  the  colonel's 
words  to  Leon. 

"I  don't  believe  it's  true,"  said  Leon.  "I'm 
sure  you  must  be  dreaming." 

"No  such  thing.  I  repeated  his  very  words  to 
you." 

"Well,  then,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "all  I  can  say 
is  that  I  feel  more  important  than  any  other  man 
in  France.  Look  at  me.,  Jacques.  Has  my  head 
grown  any  larger!" 

"I  think  not,"  laughed  Jacques.  "I'm  sure 
mine  has,  though." 

"How  about  our  luck  now?"  queried  Leon. 
"Will  you  agree  with  me  now  that  we  are  blessed 
with  good  fortune  I  I  haven 't  mentioned  the  sub- 
ject for  some  time,  but  I  don't  see  how  you  can 
possibly  dispute  it  any  more." 

"I  don't  intend  to.  I  think  it  is  true  and  I  am 
hoping  as  hard  as  I  can  that  our  luck  will  never 
forsake  us." 

"Shall  we  give  three  cheers  for  ourselves!" 

"We'd  better  get  our  equipment  before  we  do 
anything  else,"  laughed  Jacques. 

In  a  short  time  the  two  young  soldiers  were 
fully  fitted  out  for  service  at  the  front.  Each 
carried  a  rifle  and  wore  a  cartridge  belt  about  his 
waist.  A  blanket  was  slung  over  his  shoulder  and 
the  boys  appeared  very  much  like  the  many  other 
thousands  of  French  soldiers.  In  their  uniforms 


IN  THE  TRENCHES  167 

the  privates  seemed  to  be  many  editions  of  the 
same  man,  and  at  a  short  distance  it  was  next  to 
impossible  to  distinguish  one  from  another. 

An  hour  later  they  were  seated  in  a  compart- 
ment of  one  of  the  little  French  railway  carriages, 
bound  for  the  front.  Four  other  men  were  in  the 
same  compartment  and  they  were  a  happy-go- 
lucky  lot.  To  see  them  one  might  think  they  were 
starting  for  a  holiday  instead  of  for  a  battle. 
They  were  light-hearted,  they  sang  and  laughed 
and  joked  and  appeared  to  be  in  the  best  of  spirits. 
Leon  commented  on  this  fact  to  his  comrade  who 
had  been  conversing  with  the  other  men. 

"One  reason  why  they  seem  so  happy  is  because 
the  Germans  have  been  driven  back  from  Paris," 
said  Jacques. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  exclaimed  Leon  excit- 
edly. 

"Just  what  I  say.  One  of  these  men  just  gave 
me  the  news  and  he  declares  it  is  true.  He  says 
that  when  the  Germans  came  almost  up  to  the  city, 
the  army  of  Paris  came  flying  out,  and  attacking 
the  invaders  on  their  right  wing,  compelled  them 
to  retreat.'5 

"Isn't  that  wonderful!"  cried  Leon.  "Where 
did  this  army  of  Paris  attack  from  and  when  did 
all  this  happen  ?" 

"They  came  across  the  Ourcq  River  and  at- 
tacked the  flank  of  the  Germans  who  were  facing 


168    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

on  the  Marne.     This  took  place  late  yesterday,  I 
understand. ' ' 

"Those  must  have  been  the  troops  I  saw,  then," 
said  Leon.  " Don't  you  remember  I  said  I  saw 
a  large  body  of  soldiers  just  before  we  crossed  the 
Ourcq?  They  looked  to  me  as  if  they  were  com- 
ing from  Paris. ' ' 

" Probably  you're  right,"  Jacques  agreed, 
"Anyway,  Paris  is  saved." 

"You  said  there  weren't  enough  Germans  in  the 
world  to  take  it,"  said  Leon. 

"I  did,  and  I  was  right.  The  last  reports,  so 
this  man  says,  were  that  the  German  army  was  on 
the  run.  We  had  their  right  wing  caught  between 
two  divisions  of  our  troops.  These  two  divisions 
began  to  close  in  like  a  pair  of  scissors  ready  to 
cut,  and  when  General  von  Kluck  saw  that  his 
army  was  the  thing  that  was  going  to  be  cut,  you 
can  be  sure  he  didn't  waste  any  time  in  getting 
out  of  the  way  of  harm. ' ' 

"Who  is  General  von  Kluck?" 

"He  is  in  command  of  the  German  right  wing. 
It  was  the  route  taken  by  his  army  that  we  fol- 
lowed all  the  way  from  Belgium. '  ' 

"Is  that  so?"  exclaimed  Leon.  "You  say  he 
is  out  of  danger  now,  though?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  so.  He  is  retreating  rap- 
idly and  we  are  pressing  him  hard  on  all  sides, 
as  I  understand  it. ' ' 


IN  THE  TEENCHES  169 

"I  hope  we're  in  time  for  some  of  the  fun.'* 

"Ah,  but  where  we  are  going  the  German  lines 
are  holding,  I  believe." 

"Wait  till  we  get  there,  though,"  laughed 
Leon.  "By  the  way,"  he  continued,  "I'd  like  to 
send  a  post  card  or  something  to  my  mother  and 
father  in  America.  I  don't  suppose  I  can  get 
such  a  thing,  though." 

"I  have  two.  I  got  them  just  before  we  left, 
one  for  you  and  one  for  me.  I  also  want  to  send 
a  word  to  my  old  parents.  "We'll  just  about  have 
time  before  the  train  arrives  at  Bar  le  Due  to 
write  them." 

There  was  but  one  pencil  and  Leon  insisted  that 
his  comrade  should  use  it  first.  When  Jacques 
had  finished,  the  train  was  almost  pulling  into  the 
station  at  their  destination.  Leon  wrote,  "Am 
well  and  happy.  Have  just  learned  that  I  am  to 
be  decorated  for  bravery,"  and  then  the  train 
came  to  a  halt.  The  conductor  promised  to  mail 
their  cards;  the  men  quickly  detrained  and  fell 
into  line  with  the  rest  of  the  troops  that  had  ar- 
rived with  them. 

They  were  at  once  marched  to  camp  and  were 
soon  settled.  No  further  orders  were  given  at  the 
time  and  the  men  prepared  for  supper. 

"Do  you  remember  when  we  woke  up  this 
morning  that  I  said  the  firing  sounded  farther 
away?"  remarked  Leon,  as  he  and  Jacques  were 


170    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

seated  on  the  ground  eating  their  simple  but 
hearty  meal. 

"Yes,  and  evidently  you  were  right.  The  Ger- 
man right  wing  began  to  retreat  last  evening,  so 
by  this  morning  the  fighting  was  some  distance 
further  north.  At  last  the  Allies  have  taken  the 
offensive." 

"And  I  hope,"  exclaimed  Leon,  "that  they 
won't  give  it  up  until  the  Germans  are  driven  out 
of  France  and  Belgium.  Pretty  soon  we  may  be 
invading  Germany  and  perhaps  we'll  be  in  Berlin 
in  a  few  weeks. ' ' 

"I'm  afraid  not,"  smiled  Jacques.  "We  may 
be  there  some  day,  but  I  think  not  in  a  few  weeks. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  the  fighting  will  be  in  France 
for  a  long  time  to  come.  The  Germans  will  en- 
trench themselves  at  every  point  and  it  will  be  a 
big  piece  of  work  to  drive  them  out." 

"But  you  think  we  can  do  it,  don't  you?" 

"I  think  we'll  win,  of  course.  But  I'm  not  fool- 
ing myself  into  thinking  it  will  be  any  easy  thing 
to  do." 

"I  wish  they'd  give  us  a  chance  to  try  it,  just 
the  same,"  said  Leon  eagerly.  "Now  that  we're 
back  at  the  front  I  want  to  get  into  action.  I 
don't  like  this  idleness  and  just  sitting  around 
camp." 

"You  wait  a  few  days,"  cautioned  Jacques. 
"By  that  time  you'll  wish  you  had  a  chance  to  sit 


IN  THE  TRENCHES  171 

around  camp  and  do  nothing.  You'll  find  life  in 
the  trenches  is  no  fun  after  you've  had  a  good 
taste  of  it." 

" Perhaps  that's  so,"  Leon  agreed.  "The  way 
I  feel  now,  however,  is  that  I  want  to  get  right  out 
on  the  battle  line  and  get  down  to  business." 

As  he  finished  speaking  a  bugle  sounded.  It 
was  the  call  to  arms  and  immediately  soldiers 
came  hurrying  from  all  directions. 

Jacques  and  Leon  were  among  the  first  to  ar- 
rive and  were  soon  in  line,  awaiting  orders.  The 
plan  was  to  relieve  the  men  in  the  trenches  with 
fresh  troops.  By  working  in  relays  this  way  it 
was  found  that  better  results  were  obtained.  The 
soldiers  were  given  a  rest  between  fights  and  a 
comparatively  fresh  body  of  men  was  always 
maintained  near  the  battle  line. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  now,  or  rather  early 
evening,  and  darkness  was  just  beginning  to  fall. 
The  order  to  march  was  given  and  the  troops 
moved  forward.  Silently  and  swiftly  they  went, 
every  man  eager  and  determined. 

An  artillery  duel  was  going  on  between  the  op- 
posing forces.  The  firing  had  slackened  some- 
what in  the  last  half  hour,  but  this  was  no  sign 
that  the  fighting  was  to  be  discontinued  during  the 
night.  In  fact,  night  attacks  were  favorite  de- 
vices of  both  sides.  Oftentimes  large  bodies  of 
troops  would  steal  up  under  cover  of  darkness  to 


172    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

a  place  within  a  few  yards  of  the  opposing 
trenches.  Then,  with  a  last  mad  rush,  they  occa- 
sionally caught  the  enemy  completely  unprepared 
for  their  fierce  bayonet  charges. 

Several  batteries  of  heavy  guns,  concealed 
under  the  brow  of  a  hill  or  by  a  clump  of  trees, 
were  passed  on  the  way  to  the  trenches.  The 
firing  squads  were  scorched  and  blackened  by 
their  work,  but  they  were  cheerful  and  waved 
their  hands  enthusiastically  to  their  comrades  as 
they  passed  by  on  their  way  to  the  trenches. 

The  reinforcements  soon  arrived  at  the  front 
and  the  men  who  had  been  there  for  many  hours 
were  ordered  to  fall  back.  This  they  did  reluc^ 
tantly,  for  although  they  were  well  nigh  exhausted 
by  their  long  hours  of  fighting  they  were  eager  to 
stay  and  continue  it. 

"Well,  here  you  are,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  as  he 
and  Leon  took  their  places.  "Is  it  as  nice  as  you 
thought  it  was  going  to  be?" 

"The  trenches  aren't  very  comfortable,  but  1 
wouldn't  mind  that  part  of  it  if  there  was  only 
something  going  on.  I  hate  this  sitting  around. ' ' 

"So  do  I,  but  we  can't  always  have  what  we 
want.  Something  is  apt  to  start  at  any  minute. 
That  is  one  thing  that  keeps  you  alert ;  you  never 
can  tell  when  we  may  be  attacked  or  when  we  our- 
selves may  be  ordered  to  attack. ' ' 

"What's    going    on    now?"    exclaimed    Leon. 


IN  THE  TRENCHES  173 

"What  is  that  officer  saying  back  there?  He 
seems  to  be  making  some  sort  of  a  speech." 

"He  wants  volunteers  to  go  forward  and  recon- 
noiter  the  enemy's  trenches,"  said  Jacques,  after 
listening  intently  for  a  moment  to  what  the  officer 
was  saying. 

"When  does  he  want  them  to  go?" 

"Eight  now." 

"Come  along,  Jacques,"  exclaimed  Leon, 
springing  up.  "You  and  I  will  go." 

"If  they'll  let  us,  we  will,"  agreed  Jacques, 
quickly  following  Leon's  example. 

They  walked  quickly  to  the  place  where  the 
officer  was  standing  and  offered  their  services. 
Scores  of  others  also  presented  themselves,  but 
Leon  and  Jacques  were  the  first  to  apply.  Every 
man  among  the  scores  of  volunteers  insisted  that 
he  should  be  the  one  selected  for  the  dangerous 
task.  The  officer  smiled  proudly  as  he  saw  the 
eagerness  of  his  soldiers. 

1 1 1  want  only  three  men, ' '  he  said.  ' '  I  will  take 
the  first  three  to  apply." 

Consequently  Leon  and  Jacques  were  chosen 
and  with  them  a  young  Frenchman  whom  Jacques 
knew  and  with  whom  he  had  served  in  Morocco. 

"I  want  you  men  to  find  out  all  you  can  about 
what  is  going  on  in  the  German  lines,"  said  the 
officer.  "You  are  not  to  expose  yourselves  un- 
necessarily, but  I  want  all  the  information  I  can 


174    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

get.  Find  out  if  they  are  preparing  to  advance 
or  fall  back,  or  what ;  in  fact,  everything  you  can. ' ' 

Without  a  word  the  three  volunteers  turned  and 
started  to  carry  out  their  dangerous  mission. 
The  German  trenches  were  about  eight  hundred 
yards,  or  nearly  half  a  mile,  distant,  and  toward 
these  they  made  their  way. 

It  was  a  perilous  adventure  and  none  of  the 
three  volunteers  knew  whether  or  not  he  would 
ever  return  alive.  They  gave  but  little  thought 
at  the  time  to  this  phase  of  the  question,  however. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES 

FORWABD  into  the  dark  night  the  little 
band  went.  The  battle  lines  were  on  the 
very  edge  of  the  Argonne  forest  and  as  far 
as  possible  the  three  men  took  advantage  of  the 
cover  of  the  trees. 

They  moved  swiftly  at  first,  when  the  danger  of 
detection  was  comparatively  slight.  Their  cau- 
tion was  not  relaxed  for  one  moment,  however, 
and  great  care  was  observed  not  to  make  any 
noise.  In  front  of  them  and  to  their  rear  shells 
thrown  by  the  heavy  batteries  were  exploding. 
The  rule  fire  of  the  infantry  had  practically  ceased 
for  the  present. 

At  the  distance  which  separated  the  two  armies 
the  rifle  bullets  had  but  slight  effect,  especially 
at  night.  This  kind  of  fighting  was  reserved  for 
the  daylight  and  particularly  for  the  charges 
made  by  the  forces  of  foot  soldiers  on  the  oppos- 
ing trenches. 

Thus  far  most  of  the  attacking  had  been  done 
by  the  Germans.  They  had  made  a  desperate 
drive  to  break  through  the  Allied  lines  in  their 

175 


176    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

dash  for  Paris.  This  thrust  had  been  checked, 
crumpled  up  and  rolled  back  at  the  very  gates  of 
the  city,  but  this  did  not  mean  that  the  Germans 
had  abandoned  their  attempts  to  gain  the  goal 
they  so  much  desired. 

Time  and  again  the  gray-clad  troops  were 
hurled  at  the  French  and  English  lines.  Until 
within  the  last  day  or  two  these  fierce  onslaughts 
had  been  frequently  successful,  though  they  were 
attended  by  frightful  losses  to  the  invaders.  Out 
of  the  distance  would  come  the  German  hordes  in 
their  massed  formation,  shooting  from  the  hip. 

The  machine  guns  and  rifles  of  the  Allies  would 
rake  their  lines  from  end  to  end.  The  Germans 
fell  like  nine-pins  and  yet  onward  the  advancing 
troops  came.  The  gaps  were  quickly  filled  by 
those  behind  until  by  sheer  force  and  weight  of 
numbers  they  gained  ground. 

Now,  however,  the  Allies  were  resisting  more 
successfully  and  were  not  only  checking  the  at- 
tacks of  the  enemy,  but  in  some  cases  were  even 
advancing  themselves.  The  change  in  the  for- 
tunes of  war  had  worked  wonders  with  the  French 
and  English  troops.  In  many  instances  the  offi- 
cers with  difficulty  held  back  their  men.  They 
seemed  intoxicated  by  their  success  and  were 
eager  to  storm  the  strongest  defenses  of  the 
enemy,  apparently  having  no  concern  for  their 
own  lives. 


IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES  177 

Bayonet  charges  had  become  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. At  this  style  of  fighting  no  troops  could 
compare  with  the  Turcos,  the  black  soldiers  from 
the  French  colonial  possessions  in  Northern 
Africa.  Great  brawny,  strapping  men  they  were, 
unacquainted  with  fear,  who  liked  nothing  better 
than  to  engage  in  a  hand  to  hand  struggle.  Sel- 
dom it  was  that  they  came  off  second  best  and  it 
was  rumored  that  the  Germans  feared  these  black 
warriors  more  than  any  forces  that  faced 
them. 

Some  of  this  new  spirit  which  pervaded  the 
Allied  armies  had  entered  the  hearts  of  the  three 
volunteers  now  cautiously  making  their  way  along 
the  edges  of  the  Argonne  forest  toward  the  Ger- 
man lines. 

It  was  exciting  work.  There  was  always  the 
chance  that  they  might  be  discovered  by  the 
enemy,  not  only  by  those  in  the  trenches,  but  also 
by  a  party  of  men  sent  out  for  the  same  purpose 
for  which  they  themselves  were  advancing. 

It  was  thrilling  as  well  as  exciting,  however. 
The  feeling  of  danger  and  the  sense  of  adventure 
helped  the  three  volunteers  to  enjoy  their  mission 
in  spite  of  the  peril  which  attended  them. 

When  three  quarters  of  the  distance  had  been 
covered  a  halt  was  called  and  a  whispered  consul- 
tation was  held. 

"We're  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Ger- 


178    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

mans  now,"  whispered  Jacques.  "What  do  you 
think  we'd  better  do?" 

"We  ought  to  approach  them  from  the  side,  I 
think,"  said  Leon.  "It  would  be  out  of  the  ques- 
tion to  go  right  straight  ahead,  it  seems  to  me. ' ' 

'  *  That 's  right, ' '  agreed  the  third  member  of  the 
party.  "They'd  see  us  surely,  if  we  went  di- 
rectly up  to  them.  We  wouldn't  stand  a  chance 
in  the  world." 

"Very  well,  then,"  said  Jacques,  "we'll  make  a 
detour  from  here  around  through  the  border  of 
the  forest." 

"There  is  a  German  battery  of  machine  guns 
at  the  very  end  of  their  line,"  said  the  soldier 
who  accompanied  the  two  boys.  "We  don't  want 
to  get  in  the  way  of  that  or  it  will  soon  be  all  over 
with  us.  I  have  often  fired  one  myself  and  I  know 
the  damage  they  can  inflict." 

"We'll  approach  it  from  the  side,"  said 
Jacques.  "Are  you  both  ready?" 

"All  ready,"  replied  his  two  companions. 

They  were  just  about  to  drop  on  all  fours  and 
continue  their  advance,  when  Leon  suddenly 
grasped  each  of  his  companions  by  his  arm. 

"Listen,"  he  whispered  excitedly. 

All  three  stood  as  if  they  had  been  all  at  once 
transformed  into  statues.  Three  pairs  of  ears 
strained  to  catch  the  faintest  sound  that  might 


IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES  179 

indicate  the  presence  of  danger.  At  the  end  of 
two  or  three  minutes,  which  seemed  like  hours  to 
the  listeners,  Jacques  turned  to  Leon. 

"What  was  it  you  heard!"  he  whispered. 

"I  thought  I  heard  the  bushes  crackle  as  if 
some  one  was  approaching.  I  guess  I  must  have 
been  mistaken,  however. ' ' 

"I  heard  nothing,"  said  Jacques.  "We'd  bet- 
ter proceed." 

Before  they  had  a  chance  to  carry  out  this  sug- 
gestion, however,  a  sound  was  heard  by  all  three 
that  caused  them  to  stop  once  more.  Undoubtedly 
some  one  was  coming  through  the  forest  and  who- 
ever it  was  seemed  to  care  but  little  as  to  how 
much  noise  he  made. 

"Drop,"  whispered  Jacques  fiercely,  and  in- 
stantly the  three  scouts  threw  themselves  flat  upon 
the  ground  and  waited. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  sounds.  Twigs 
crackled  and  snapped  while  bushes  were  evidently 
being  thrust  aside  in  the  path  of  the  oncomer. 
To  the  three  young  soldiers  stretched  upon  the 
ground  the  only  explanation  which  offered  itself 
was  that  a  machine  gun  was  being  moved  forwrard. 
It  was  hard  for  them  to  understand  why  so  little 
precaution  was  being  taken,  however. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  run  and  as  they  waited, 
every  one  of  the  three  scouts  vowed  to  himself 


180    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

that  if  he  was  to  die  he  would  die  fighting.  Three 
automatic  revolvers  were  held  in  readiness  for  the 
first  sign  of  the  enemy. 

The  noise  was  not  ten  feet  away  now  and  was 
coming  directly  toward  the  position  held  by  the 
three  young  soldiers  of  France.  Suddenly  the 
crackling  in  the  underbrush  ceased  when  it  was 
almost  upon  them. 

"Moot" 

Leon  heard  Jacques  laugh  nervously,  while  on 
his  other  side  the  young  French  regular  exclaimed 
softly  under  his  breath. 

' '  To  be  fooled  that  way  by  a  cow ! ' '  whispered 
Jacques  disgustedly. 

" Thank  heaven  it  is  a  cow,"  exclaimed  Leon 
fervently,  feeling  somewhat  limp. 

None  of  the  three  made  any  attempt  to  talk  or 
to  move  for  some  moments.  The  tension  they  had 
been  under  was  very  great  and  the  unexpected 
and  sudden  ending  of  the  adventure  had  left  them 
all  too  weak  to  do  anything. 

Finally,  Leon  spoke.  His  natural  American 
curiosity  and  desire  to  talk  could  be  restrained 
no  longer.  "What  is  a  cow  doing  here!"  he  in- 
quired in  a  low  voice. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Jacques.  "She  prob- 
ably belongs  to  some  peasant  in  the  neighborhood 
who  had  to  desert  his  home  and  everything  he 
owned  when  the  country  was  invaded." 


IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES  181 

"I  should  think  she'd  have  been  shot  and  eaten 
long  before  this." 

"That's  what  will  happen  to  her  soon,  all 
right,"  said  Jacques.  "Are  we  ready  to  go 
now?"  he  continued. 

"How  about  the  cow?"  asked  Leon. 

"Leave  her  where  she  is,"  replied  Jacques, 
"we  don't  want  her." 

The  animal  in  question  was  standing  near-by, 
quietly  and  contentedly  chewing  her  cud  and  ap- 
parently unconscious  that  a  war  was  going  on  or 
that  she  was  in  any  danger  herself.  She  was  as 
contented  as  if  in  her  own  barnyard. 

"Allons,"  whispered  the  regular  to  Jacques, 
and  Leon  and  all  three  moved  forward  again. 

Leon  had  learned  enough  of  the  French  lan- 
guage to  know  that  the  word  "aliens"  meant 
"come  on."  In  fact,  he  discovered  from  time  to 
time  that  he  was  able  to  understand  a  part  of 
what  was  spoken  around  him.  Every  day  lie 
learned  new  words  and  new  phrases  and  was  bet- 
ter able  all  the  while  to  make  himself  intelligible 
to  his  French  comrades. 

The  young  soldiers  now  crawled  forward,  lying 
prone  on  their  stomachs.  The  greatest  care  was 
taken  to  maintain  absolute  silence,  for  the  slight- 
est noise  might  mean  the  loss  of  all  three  lives. 
Each  man  felt  in  front  of  him  with  his  hands  as 
he  advanced.  Every  twig  and  branch  and  stone 


182    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

which  might  hinder  progress  or  cause  any  sound 
was  carefully  removed. 

Three  abreast  they  wormed  their  way  forward. 
Slowly,  very  slowly,  they  proceeded,  but  all  were 
agreed  that  safety  was  to  be  preferred  to  speed. 
The  old  fable  of  the  hare  and  the  tortoise  was 
being  illustrated  once  more.  Infinite  patience  and 
determination  possessed  the  souls  of  the  three 
scouts  and  when  these  two  qualities  are  combined 
they  are  hard  to  defeat. 

Their  progress  was  scarcely  perceptible,  but 
still  they  advanced.  Closer  and  closer  they  came 
to  the  enemy's  lines.  They  had  covered  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards  of  the  last  two  hundred,  and 
an  hour  and  a  half  had  been  consumed  in  this 
effort. 

Fifty  yards  ahead  of  them  they  could  see  the 
spit  of  a  machine  gun  as  it  poured  its  rain  of 
leaden  death  into  the  French  trenches.  This  gun 
was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  German  lines  and 
by  the  flash  of  the  shells  a  squad  of  perhaps  half 
a  dozen  men  could  be  seen  in  charge. 

The  three  scouts  stopped  and  waited.  They 
watched  the  sight  intently  and  after  a  short  time 
had  elapsed  the  firing  from  this  gun  ceased.  This 
was  the  signal  for  a  further  advance  on  the  part 
of  the  scouts.  More  rapidly  they  crawled  now,  as 
the  Germans  had  evidently  left  their  gun  for  a 


IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES  183 

few  moments.  This  was  an  opportunity  not  to  be 
missed. 

All  three  wriggled  forward  as  rapidly  as  they 
were  able,  still  taking  pains  to  preserve  silence, 
however.  They  now  bore  off  to  their  right  more 
than  before  in  order  to  approach  the  trenches 
from  the  side,  or,  if  possible,  from  the  rear. 
Nearer  and  nearer  they  came  until  at  length  they 
reached  a  spot  parallel  with  the  German  trenches. 

Hardly  ten  yards  away  stood  the  machine  gun. 
The  Germans  had  been  called  away  for  supper  or 
for  a  brief  time  they  had  relaxed  their  vigilance. 
At  any  rate  the  gun  was  unmanned  and  presented 
a  great  temptation  to  the  three  young  French  sol- 
diers. 

"We  can  capture  that  gun,"  whispered 
Jacques. 

"I  can  fire  it,"  replied  the  young  regular. 
"We  can  turn  it  on  the  Germans  and  scare  the 
lives  out  of  them." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Leon.  "Let's  make  a  rush 
for  it." 

They  gathered  themselves  together  for  this  des- 
perate attempt  and  a  moment  later  when  Jacques 
gave  the  signal  they  sprang  to  their  feet  and  to- 
gether made  a  swift  dash  for  the  place  where  the 
machine  gun  was  standing. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AN   EXCITING   NIGHT 

DURING  the  lull  in  the  fighting  the  Ger- 
mans had  withdrawn  a  short  distance 
and  were  eating  the  soup  which  com- 
posed their  principal  food.  Evidently  the  fear  of 
a  surprise  attack  was  far  from  their  thoughts,  and 
as  a  consequence  they  were  unprepared  for  what 
was  about  to  come. 

A  dozen  strides  were  sufficient  to  bring  the 
three  daring  scouts  to  the  place  where  the  machine 
gun  was  standing.  Here  they  were  in  the  midst 
of  the  hostile  lines,  only  three  men  opposed  to  at 
least  two  companies  of  the  enemy. 

As  yet  their  presence  had  not  been  detected. 

"Wheel  her !"  exclaimed  Jacques  in  a  low  voice, 
at  the  same  time  grasping  the  spokes  of  one  wheel 
in  both  hands.  Leon  took  the  opposite  side  and 
their  companion  the  rear,  and  a  moment  later  the 
machine  gun  was  no  longer  pointing  toward  the 
French  soldiers,  but  directly  at  the  Germans  them- 
selves. 

" Hurry !"  urged  Leon  eagerly.  "We  haven't 
$  second  to  lose!" 

The  ammunition  for  the  gun  was  in  a  case  close 

184 


AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  185 

at  hand  and  from  this  a  large  quantity  of  bullets 
were  soon  extracted.  They  were  in  long  strips, 
like  the  strips  of  caps  sold  for  toy  pistols,  and 
sooner  than  it  takes  to  tell  about  it  the  bullets 
were  loaded  in  the  gun  and  all  was  in  readiness 
for  action. 

The  young  regular  was  in  charge  and  he  soon 
showed  that  he  understood  his  task.  He  aimed 
the  machine  gun  at  the  group  of  Germans  who 
were  nearest,  and  could  be  faintly  seen  through 
the  darkness.  Then  he  opened  fire  on  them. 

"Let  'em  have  it!"  cried  Leon,  as  a  rain  of  bul- 
lets poured  forth  upon  the  luckless  Germans.  A 
steady  stream  of  fire  and  lead  belched  from  the 
mouth  of  the  gun  as  Jacques  and  his  companion 
swept  the  enemy's  lines. 

"  They  're  on  the  run,"  shouted  Leon.  "At 
least  those  that  are  left  are  running." 

Evidently  the  Germans  were  demoralized.  So 
unexpected  an  attack  and  from  such  close  quarters 
had  surprised  them  and  thrown  them  into  disor- 
der. Confusion  reigned  on  all  sides. 

"Keep  it  up!  Keep  it  up!"  cried  Leon,  danc- 
ing up  and  down  in  his  excitement.  "Point  it 
down  the  trenches  here !  Give  them  all  a  taste  of 
it!" 

His  suggestion  was  quickly  followed.  The  mur- 
derous fire  of  the  machine  gun  raked  the  trenches 
and  soon  cleared  them  of  any  Germans  that  might 


186    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

have  remained  there.  Thus  far  not  a  shot  had 
been  fired  at  the  three  young  scouts.  The  Ger- 
mans were  in  full  retreat  and  their  retreat  was 
fast  becoming  a  rout.  They  undoubtedly  sup- 
posed that  a  large  force  of  the  French  had  at- 
tacked them,  and  so  completely  had  they  been 
taken  by  surprise  that  they  did  not  wait  to  find  out 
the  truth. 

As  they  broke  and  ran  for  their  lives  a  power- 
ful searchlight  from  the  French  lines  was  flashed 
upon  them  and  the  French  batteries  at  that  mo- 
ment also  opened  fire.  Charge  after  charge  of 
grapeshot  was  hurled  into  the  huddled  and  con- 
fused masses  of  the  Germans.  The  effect  of  this 
was  deadly  and  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  were  rid- 
dled and  torn  from  end  to  end. 

The  French  had  evidently  been  waiting  for  some 
sign  of  activity  on  the  part  of  their  scouts  and  no 
time  was  lost  in  taking  advantage  of  the  daring 
effort  of  the  three  young  soldiers. 

"Give  'em  some  more!"  cried  Leon.  "Shoot 
where  the  searchlight  is  playing. ' ' 

"Give  us  some  more  ammunition!"  shouted 
Jacques,  with  difficulty  making  himself  heard 
above  the  noise  of  the  firing. 

"I  certainly  will!"  responded  Leon,  and  he 
quickly  emptied  the  case  of  all  that  it  held. 
"Shoot  it  all  at  them,"  he  urged,  "and  be  quick 
about  it!  They're  leaving  us  pretty  rapidly  and 


AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  187 

they'll  soon  be  where  we  can't  take  a  shot  at 
them." 

This  was  indeed  true.  The  Germans  were  flee- 
ing in  riotous  haste,  every  man  for  himself ;  and  in 
their  mad  flight  they  left  everything  that  might 
hinder  their  movements  in  any  way.  Another 
machine  gun  some  fifty  yards  distant  was  aban- 
doned; ammunition  was  disregarded  and  the 
ground  was  littered  with  rifles  thrown  away. 

"They've  almost  gone,"  announced  Leon,  as 
the  powerful  searchlight  swept  the  ground  where 
the  Germans  lately  had  been  entrenched. 

"It's  a  good  thing  they  have,"  gasped  Jacques. 
"The  barrel  of  this  gun  is  so  hot  it  would  melt  if 
we  fired  much  more." 

"We  don't  need  any  more,"  cried  Leon.  "We 
chased  the  whole  crowd  of  them  away.  Here 
come  our  troops,"  he  announced. 

Sure  enough,  several  companies  of  French  in- 
fantry were  advancing  on  the  run  and  soon  came 
to  the  captured  trenches.  They  cheered  loudly  as 
they  realized  what  had  taken  place.  Not  a  Ger- 
man was  to  be  seen ;  they  all  had  been  put  to  flight 
by  three  soldiers.  The  daring  effort  of  the  three 
scouts  had  been  a  complete  success. 

"Get  that  other  machine  gun!"  shouted 
Jacques. 

"They'll  get  it,  all  right,"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"Don't  worry  about  that." 


188    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

The  French  soldiers  immediately  took  posses- 
sion of  the  abandoned  trenches  so  that  their  lines 
in  this  place  were  moved  forward  nearly  a  half 
mile.  Not  often  did  it  happen  that  a  gain  of  such 
magnitude  was  made  without  great  loss  of  life  on 
the  part  of  the  assailants.  In  order  to  capture 
intrenched  positions  it  is  usually  necessary  to  at- 
tack with  a  force  at  least  four  or  five  times  as 
large  as  that  of  the  defenders. 

The  three  young  soldiers  were  soon  the  center 
of  a  joyous  group  who  slapped  them  on  their 
backs  and  cheered  them  and  applauded  their 
splendid  achievement.  The  young  lieutenant  who 
had  sent  them  forward  was  among  the  first  to  con- 
gratulate them. 

"You  did  wonderfully,  marvelously  1 "  he  ex- 
claimed, shaking  hands  with  all  three  of  the  young 
men  in  turn.  "I  cannot  tell  you  how  proud  I  am 
of  you!  You  shall  all  be  recommended  for  the 
medal. '  ' 

Jacques  and  Leon  and  their  companion  were 
greatly  embarrassed  at  all  this  display  which  was 
being  made  over  them.  They  had  not  realized 
what  a  brave  deed  they  had  done.  They  had 
started  out  to  do  as  they  had  been  ordered,  and 
had  seen  a  chance  to  go  a  little  bit  farther.  They 
had  seized  this  opportunity  and  had  been  success- 
ful. That  was  all.  The  thought  that  they  were 
doing  any  very  brave  or  heroic  act  had  not  oc- 


AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  189 

curred  to  them  until  their  comrades  began  to  heap 
praises  upon  them. 

"Let's  get  out  of  this,"  whispered  Leon  to 
Jacques  at  the  first  opportunity. 

" That's  what  I  say,"  replied  Jacques,  and 
quietly  and  unobserved  the  two  young  soldiers 
took  their  places  in  the  trenches. 

"We're  heroes,  did  you  know  that?"  said  Leon 
a  few  moments  later. 

"So  it  seems,"  laughed  Jacques.  "I  don't  like 
it,  do  you?" 

"No,  I  don't;  but  I'm  glad  of  one  thing." 

1 '  That  we  are  to  be  recommended  for  the  medal 
again?  With  two  recommendations  we  ought  to 
get  at  least  one  medal.  I  want  one  badly. ' ' 

"No  more  than  I  do,  and  I  only  hope  we  don't 
get  killed  before  we  have  a  chance  to  wear  them. ' ' 

"We  always  stand  a  good  chance  of  that,  I  sup- 
pose." 

"We  certainly  do,  and  I  don't  think  we'll  have 
to  wait  long  for  an  opportunity." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"Just  wait  and  see.  I  don't  believe  the  Ger- 
mans are  going  to  give  up  these  trenches  without 
more  of  a  fight.  Their  one  idea  is  to  get  ahead, 
and  unless  I'm  very  much  mistaken  we'll  see  them 
back  here  shortly." 

"Do  you  think  they'll  come  to-night?" 

"I  don't  know  when  they'll  come,  but  it  will  be 


190    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

before  to-morrow  night,  I  am  almost  sure.  That's 
only  my  opinion,  of  course, ' '  said  Jacques. 

"Well,  if  they  do  retake  the  trenches, "  ex- 
claimed Leon,  "  they  '11  have  more  trouble  doing  it 
than  we  did  in  capturing  them  in  the  first  place. ' ' 

"No  trenches  were  ever  taken  as  easily  as 
these,"  laughed  Jacques.  "Wasn't  it  wonderful 
the  way  we  fooled  those  Germans  f" 

"I  told  you  there 'd  be  some  action  as  soon  as 
we  got  back  at  the  front." 

"You  mustn't  get  conceited,  Leon,"  cautioned 
Jacques. 

"No  fear  of  that.  My  head  is  not  swelled;  I'm 
only  glad  to  think  of  how  we  happened  to  be  able 
to  do  what  we  did.  I  consider  it  luck  more  than 
anything  else.  This  is  only  another  proof  of  how 
lucky  we  are." 

1 1  It  is,  indeed, '  *  Jacques  assented.  ' '  We  '11  also 
be  lucky  if  we  don't  catch  pneumonia  or  some- 
thing like  that  in  these  trenches. ' ' 

"They  are  pretty  damp,  aren't  they?" 

"I  should  say  they  are.  Are  you  as  glad  to  be 
in  them  as  you  thought  you  'd  be  ? " 

"Just  exactly,"  exclaimed  Leon  cheerfully. 
"I  don't  mind  a  few  small  discomforts.  When 
you're  in  the  army,  you  know,  you  must  remember 
that  it  is  not  all  brass  buttons  and  dress  pa- 
rade. ' ' 

"Well,  I  guess  not,"  agreed  Jacques  earnestly. 


AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  191 

"At  least  not  in  war  time.  Have  you  seen  many 
brass  buttons  or  dress  parades  since  you've  been 
in  the  army?" 

"I  saw  some  buttons  and  some  parades.  They 
weren't  dress  parades,  though,  and  I  fancy  that 
the  men  in  them  weren't  thinking  much  of  how 
they  looked." 

''Most  of  them  were  wondering  how  they  were 
going  to  feel  and  act  when  the  bullets  of  the  enemy 
began  to  whizz  past  their  ears,  I  imagine,"  said 
Jacques  grimly.  "I'd  almost  rather  face  bullets 
than  sit  in  this  damp  trench,  though. ' ' 

"Let  me  show  you  how  to  do  it,"  exclaimed 
Leon. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  inquired  Jacques 
curiously. 

"Get  some  of  that  straw  first,"  Leon  directed. 

The  trenches  were  more  or  less  covered  with 
straw.  The  side  facing  toward  the  enemy  was  in 
this  condition,  at  any  rate.  Consequently,  when 
the  men  stood  up  to  fire  they  rested  their  arms  in 
the  dry  straw,  which  also  afforded  them  consider- 
able protection  from  the  German  sharpshooters. 

As  Jacques  reached  for  some  of  this  straw,  Leon 
divested  himself  of  his  knapsack  and  placed  it  on 
the  bottom  of  the  trench.  All  about  it  he  placed 
the  straw  that  Jacques  handed  him.  In  a  few 
moments  he  had  a  dry  seat  and  a  warm  place  in 
which  he  could  rest  his  feet. 


192    WITH  JOPFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"That's  a  fine  idea,"  exclaimed  Jacques  en- 
thusiastically, and  in  a  few  moments  he  had  fol- 
lowed Leon's  example  and  was  warmly  and  com- 
fortably quartered. 

"Oh,  yes,"  laughed  Leon.  "I  have  a  wonder- 
ful brain." 

"Just  the  same,  all  the  men  are  copying  you," 
said  Jacques ;  and  sure  enough,  in  both  directions 
through  the  trenches  the  soldiers  were  using  their 
knapsacks  and  the  straw  to  make  seats  and  dry 
foot  space  for  themselves. 

"It  certainly  is  more  comfortable,  isn't  it?" 
said  Leon.  *  *  Now  I  feel  as  if  I  can  pass  the  night 
fairly  comfortably." 

"You  mean  what  is  left  of  the  night.  It  will 
be  dawn  in  about  two  hours." 

"And  at  dawn  the  Germans  will  attack." 

"T  think  you're  right,"  Jacques  agreed. 
"Shall  we  tiy  to  get  a  little  sleep?" 

"It  would  be  a  good  plan,  I  think.  I  wonder 
what  chance  there  is  of  our  being  able  to  do  it?" 

"No  chance  at  all,"  exclaimed  Jacques  at  the 
end  of  about  twenty  minutes.  "I  can't  sleep  in 
a  place  like  this  and  at  such  a  time." 

"Nor  I,"  said  Leon.  "Let's  stand  up  and 
stretch  ourselves  and  see  if  we  can  see  what  is 
going  on." 

Both  boys  stood  up,  but  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  see  anything  in  the  darkness.  Jacques 


AN  EXCITING  NIGHT  193 

engaged  in  conversation  with  the  soldier  nearest 
him,  and  though  Leon  could  understand  but  little 
of  what  was  said,  he  listened  attentively.  He  had 
determined  to  improve  his  every  opportunity  to 
learn  French.  Since  he  had  been  in  Europe  and 
in  the  war,  and  seen  all  the  wonderful  things  there 
were  to  see  and  had  heard  about  all  the  things 
that  were  going  on,  he  had  decided  that  it  was 
impossible  to  know  too  much.  Consequently,  he 
resolved  not  only  to  learn  French,  but  to  take  an 
interest  in  other  things  as  well.  One  can  never 
tell  when  knowledge  may  be  useful  or  even  when 
it  may  save  a  life. 

"We  have  been  reenforced,"  said  Jacques  at 
length,  turning  to  Leon.  "This  man  here  says 
the  officers  evidently  expect  an  attack  and  that  a 
large  force  has  been  brought  up  to  aid  us. ' ' 

The  two  young  soldiers  stood  in  the  trenches 
and  discussed  the  possibilities  of  an  attack  and 
what  would  be  done  in  the  event  of  such  a  thing 
happening.  They  made  up  maneuvers  and  told 
how  they  would  act  in  like  circumstances  were 
they  in  command  of  the  troops.  The  night  passed 
quickly  in  this  way  and  almost  before  they  were 
awjire  of  it  the  first  streaks  of  light  began  to  ap- 
pear in  the  eastern  sky. 

Before  long  it  was  possible  to  distinguish  ob- 
jects at  a  distance,  and  now  several  men  with  spy- 
glasses were  stationed  on  the  edge  of  the  trenches. 


They  swept  the  country  in  all  directions,  espe- 
cially the  district  through  which  the  Germans  had 
fled  in  their  mad  rout  the  preceding  night.  From 
behind  the  French  lines  an  aeroplane  rose  and 
soared  swiftly  away  to  discover  the  position  and 
strength  of  the  enemy. 

"You  look  nervous,"  remarked  Jacques  to 
Leon,  whose  hand  shook  as  he  reached  for  one  of 
the  cups  of  coffee  being  now  served  the  soldiers. 

"I  am  nervous/*  replied  Leon.  "I'm  not 
frightened,  though." 

As  he  spoke  one  of  the  men  with  a  spyglass  sud- 
denly jumped  to  his  feet. 

"Here  they  come!"  he  shouted. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   INVADERS   ATTACK 

INSTANTLY  every  one  was  alert.  All 
through  the  long  lines  of  trenches  the  sol- 
diers sprang  to  their  feet,  prepared  for  im- 
mediate action.  Needless  to  say,  Leon  and 
Jacques  were  among  the  first  to  be  in  their  places. 

"Can  you  see  anything!"  inquired  Leon 
eagerly. 

"Not  a  thing." 

"Perhaps  this  man  was  mistaken." 

"I  guess  not,"  said  Jacques  confidently.  "He 
had  glasses,  you  know,  and  he  was  higher  than 
we  are.  He  could  see  them  long  before  we  could, 
even  if  he  had  no  glasses  to  help  him.  They're 
coming,  all  right." 

"That  looks  like  it!"  exclaimed  Leon,  as  a  shell 
shrieked  over  their  heads  and  burst  some  distance 
behind  the  French  lines. 

"Yes,  and  there  is  our  reply  to  it,"  said 
Jacques. 

The  French  artillery  had  opened  fire.  The  roar 
of  the  cannonading  became  louder  and  louder  as 
the  firing  became  more  frequent.  Shells  from  the 

195 


196    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

German  guns  were  bursting  both  in  front  and  in 
the  rear  of  the  French  trenches.  So  far,  however, 
the  damage  they  had  done  was  slight. 

" Those  are  the  'Jack  Johnsons'  they  are 
using,"  said  Jacques. 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"Those  big  German  howitzers.  Don't  you  re- 
member how  the  English  soldiers  at  Mons  chris- 
tened them  that  ? ' ' 

"Sure  enough,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "They 
aren't  doing  much  damage  to  us  yet,  though,  are 
they?" 

"No,  but  wait  a  few  moments." 

The  soldier  next  to  Jacques  plucked  him  by  the 
sleeve  and  engaged  him  in  conversation  while  a 
grin  of  delight  spread  over  his  face.  Jacques, 
too,  broke  into  a  smile  as  he  listened  to  his  neigh- 
bor's words. 

"Did  you  hear  that?"  he  asked,  turning  to 
Leon. 

"I  didn't  hear  a  thing  you  said." 

"This  man  says  that  our  gunners  are  writing, 
'Love  to  the  Kaiser,'  and  'Regards  from  the 
Allies,'  on  the  shells  they  are  firing  at  the  Ger- 
mans. J ' 

"That's  pretty  good,"  laughed  Leon.  "I  only 
hope  the  Kaiser  will  receive  the  message." 

"No  fear  of  that.    You  may  be  sure  he  is  in 


THE  INVADERS  ATTACK  197 

some  good  safe  place,  where  the  enemy's  shells 
won't  bother  him." 

"I  wish  he  was  in  that  crowd  that  is  attacking 
us." 

"So  do  I.    Can  you  see  them  yet?" 

Leon  stood  on  tiptoe  and  peered  intently  in  the 
direction  from  which  the  Germans  had  been 
sighted.  As  the  sun  rose  higher,  the  early  morn- 
ing mists  were  burned  away  and  it  was  now  pos- 
sible to  see  a  long  distance. 

"I  see  them!"  cried  Leon  suddenly.  "Look!" 
and  as  he  spoke  he  pointed  straight  ahead  of  him. 

"I  don't  see  a  thing." 

" There!"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Don't  you  see 
something  moving  'way  off  there  I ' ' 

"Those  long  gray  lines,  you  mean?" 

"Yes.    Those  are  the  Germans." 

"You're  right,"  said  Jacques  suddenly.  "I 
saw  that  line  before,  but  I  didn't  think  it  could  be 
the  soldiers.  It  looks  just  like  part  of  the  land- 
scape. ' ' 

"It  is  hard  to  see  them,"  agreed  Leon.  "Until 
I  saw  them  moving  I  thought  they  were  a  hedge 
or  something  like  that,  too.  At  this  time  of  day 
they  are  especially  hard  to  see. ' ' 

"Those  are  wonderful  uniforms,"  said  Jacques. 
"  Think  how  much  better  they  are  than  these 
baggy  red  trousers  the  French  troops  have  to 


198    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

wear.    Our  uniforms  make  us  a  perfect  mark  for 
the  enemy's  guns." 

"Yes,  but  I  have  heard  they  were  going  to  be 
changed. ' ' 

"They  ought  to  be,"  insisted  Jacques.  "Just 
because  our  soldiers  have  worn  these  same  uni- 
forms for  so  many  years  they  hate  to  give  them 
up.  It  is  all  absolute  nonsense." 

"Too  late  to  change  them  before  this  battle," 
laughed  Leon.  "Look!"  he  added,  as  he  glanced 
at  the  sky  above  them.  ' '  That  aeroplane  we  sent 
up  must  be  directly  over  the  German  lines.  See, 
it  has  changed  its  course  and  is  now  flying  parallel 
to  us." 

"They're  being  fired  at,  too.  You  can  see 
shells  bursting  around  it." 

"They're  down  fairly  low,"  remarked  Leon. 
"I'm  glad  you  and  I  are  not  in  that  machine, 
aren't  you?" 

"I  certainly  am.  I  know  how  they  must  feel, 
though.  Do  you  remember  how  we  felt  when  we 
were  being  fired  at  on  the  Marne?" 

"I  shall  never  forget  it." 

"They're  hit!"  cried  Jacques  suddenly. 
"Look  at  them!  They're  falling!" 

"That  is  horrible,"  shuddered  Leon,  as  he  gazed 
spellbound  and  with  wide  open  eyes  at  the  falling 
aeroplane.  Evidently  it  had  been  struck  by  a  bul- 
let or  the  fragment  of  a  bursting  shell.  It  had 


THE  INVADERS  ATTACK  199 

suddenly  pitched  forward  and  then  plunged  head- 
long toward  the  earth  in  its  mad  descent.  Half 
the  distance  from  the  ground  it  caught  fire  and  a 
roaring  mass  of  flames  dashed  downward  to  de- 
struction. 

"Two  more  good  men  gone,"  sighed  Leon. 
"Who  was  the  aviator,  Jacques?" 

"I  don't  know.  He  did  his  duty,  anyway,  for 
he  stayed  over  the  German  troops  long  enough  to 
give  our  gunners  the  range." 

"We  paid  a  big  price  for  the  information,  I 
should  say." 

1 1  Not  very, ' '  remarked  Jacques.  "  In  a  war  like 
this  the  lives  of  two  men  aren't  worth  a  very 
great  deal.  Not  that  I  think  that  lives  are  to  be 
wasted  by  any  means." 

"The  Germans  waste  them." 

"They  do  seem  to.  I  don't  believe  you'll  ever 
find  General  Joffre  doing  such  a  thing,  however." 

"I  hope  he'll  not." 

The  two  young  soldiers  talked  on  while  the  long 
line  of  gray-clad  Germans  advanced  upon  them 
slowly  and  yet  steadily.  They  were  still  a  long 
distance  away,  too  great  a  distance  to  be  a  mark 
for  rifle  bullets.  The  artillery  roared  and  crashed 
continuously,  however,  and  evidently  the  French 
were  doing  considerable  damage  with  their  big 
guns.  Even  with  the  naked  eye  it  was  now  pos- 
sible to  see  shells  explode  in  the  ranks  of  the 


200    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

enemy.  A  gap  would  appear,  only  to  be  filled  al- 
most immediately  by  those  in  the  rear. 

"How  many  of  them  are  there,  do  you  think?" 
exclaimed  Leon. 

"About  five  or  six  regiments,  I  should  say." 

"That  means  about  six  or  seven  thousand  men, 
then." 

"About  that  many,  yes." 

"How  many  have  we  here?" 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Jacques.  "Not  over 
four  thousand. ' ' 

"Can  we  hold  them?" 

"Certainly,  we  can.  It  will  take  more  than  the 
men  they  have  there  to  take  these  trenches  away 
from  us  now.  The  ones  who  are  attacking  are  al- 
ways at  a  disadvantage  and  need  many  more  men. 
You  must  remember  that  they  can't  even  see  us 
yet,  while  they  are  in  plain  sight.  They'll  un- 
doubtedly charge  us  and  then  you'll  see  them  go 
down  like  nine-pins  when  we  open  up.  It's  going 
to  be  terrible,  and  we'll  have  to  fight  like  demons." 

"We'll  do  that,  all  right,"  said  Leon.  "Just 
look  at  these  men  around  us." 

The  French  troops  in  the  trenches  were  almost 
beside  themselves  with  excitement.  Their  hands 
twitched  nervously  and  as  they  peered  forth  upon 
the  mass  of  advancing  Germans  it  was  evident 
that  many  were  restraining  themselves  with  diffi- 


THE  INVADERS  ATTACK  201 

culty  from  jumping  out  of  the  trenches  and  rush- 
ing forward  to  meet  the  oncoming  host. 

"Yes,"  said  Jacques.  "I  guess  you're  right; 
these  men  will  fight  like  demons.  If  you  were 
fighting  for  your  home  and  your  country,  I  guess 
you  would,  too." 

"I  expect  to  fight  my  best,"  said  Leon  stoutly. 

* '  I  know  you  do, ' '  exclaimed  Jacques.  ' '  I  don 't 
want  you  to  think  for  a  moment  that  I  doubted 
that  fact.  I  was  just  thinking  of  these  French- 
men here  whose  country  is  invaded  and  is  already 
scarred  horribly  by  this  war." 

"Well,  it's  better  to  win  at  the  end  than  at  the 
beginning,"  said  Leon.  "The  Germans  are  doing 
their  best  now,  while  we  will  be  stronger  every 
day." 

' '  That  is  true, ' '  agreed  Jacques.  ' '  At  the  same 
time  I  wish  we  had  been  more  prepared  for  this 
war.  We'll  win  in  the  end,  all  right,  but  if  we 
could  win  at  the  beginning,  too,  that  would  make 
the  end  come  quicker." 

"We'll  do  our  part  in  this  fight,"  exclaimed 
Leon.  "I  think  we're  going  to  be  ordered  to  fire 
in  a  moment." 

All  along  the  line  sounded  the  click  of  the  ham- 
mers as  the  rifles  were  cocked.  Every  man  set 
himself  a  little  more  firmly  in  his  place.  Every 
one  gripped  his  rifle  a  little  more  tightly  and 


202    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

grimly  prepared  himself  for  the  struggle  which 
was  about  to  come. 

In  close  formation  the  Germans  advanced. 
They  were  shouting  and  singing  as  they  came  on 
and  above  the  roar  of  the  big  guns  the  sound  of 
the  men's  voices  made  its  way. 

"I  wish  they  wouldn't  sing,"  exclaimed  Leon. 
"It  seems  too  horrible." 

"Ssh,"  hissed  Jacques.  "Keep  your  eyes  on 
the  captain  there." 

* '  Eeady, ' '  shouted  the  officer.    '  *  Aim !    Fire ! ' ' 

The  sharp  bark  of  hundreds  of  rifles  now  added 
to  the  ever  increasing  din.  Fast  and  furious  be- 
came the  fighting.  The  men  in  the  trenches 
worked  feverishly  to  load  and  fire  their  guns  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

The  Germans  fell  in  scores,  but  their  advance 
did  not  slacken  for  a  moment.  On  they  came, 
cheering  wildly.  The  places  of  the  fallen  were 
instantly  taken  by  their  fellows,  so  that  the  front 
rank  always  remained  intact.  The  French  ma- 
chine guns  and  mitrailleuses  now  opened  fire  and 
the  havoc  they  wrought  was  beyond  description. 

It  was  as  if  some  man  with  a  scythe  was  cut- 
ting weeds  in  his  gardens.  Entire  rows  of  the 
Germans  were  cut  down  and  plunged  headlong  to 
the  earth.  The  bravery  of  the  attackers  was  mar- 
velous for  they  did  not  once  falter.  On,  on,  on 
they  came  like  a  great  gray-green  wave  that  had 


THE  INVADERS  ATTACK  203 

just  broken  and  was  curling  onward  toward  the 
beach. 

Leon  and  Jacques  were  working  desperately. 
The  officers  were  exhorting  their  men  to  even 
greater  efforts,  though  every  one  already  was 
doing  his  utmost  and  needed  no  urging.  So  fast 
were  the  men  loading  and  firing  that  before  many 
minutes  had  passed  the  ammunition  began  to  run 
low. 

The  rifle-firing  ceased  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
the  artillery,  and  especially  the  rapid  firers,  kept 
a  steady  rain  of  lead  pouring  into  the  German 
ranks. 

"We're  checking  them!  They're  breaking 
up!"  exclaimed  Leon. 

On  his  right  the  soldier  who  had  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  him  had  sunk  forward  and  Leon 
suddenly  perceived  that  the  man  was  dead.  He 
was  half  propped  up  in  the  trench,  his  head  lying 
on  his  outstretched  arms.  Shocked  as  he  was  by 
this  discovery,  Leon  quickly  recovered  his  com- 
posure. So  intent  was  he  on  the  battle  now  raging 
that  anything  else  could  have  but  small  effect  on 
him. 

"Yes,  sir,"  cried  Jacques,  "we  are  stopping 
them.  We'll  send  'em  back  in  a  moment  more, 
too." 

Both  boys  began  to  cheer,  and  their  comrades, 
catching  a  spark  of  their  enthusiasm,  also  broke 


204    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

into  a  shout.  This  proceeding  seemed  to  discon- 
cert the  Germans  almost  more  than  did  the  bullets. 
They  had  received  terrible  punishment  as  they 
pushed  forward,  but  they  were  able  to  take  all 
that  and  still  advance,  for  they  believed  that  they 
could  drive  out  the  French  and  they  were  pre- 
pared for  heavy  losses.  When  the  cheer  from 
the  trenches  reached  them  over  the  blood-stained 
battlefield,  however,  they  wavered. 

For  the  first  time  the  Germans  hesitated. 
Their  front  rank  almost  seemed  to  stop.  The 
troops  in  the  rear  consequently  were  checked  and 
before  many  minutes  the  attackers  were  gathered 
in  a  great  dense  mass,  apparently  undecided 
whether  to  advance  or  to  retreat. 

The  non-commissioned  officers  shouted  and 
waved  their  swords.  They  exhorted  their  men  to 
go  forward  and  they  even  struck  some  of  the  sol- 
diers with  the  flat  of  their  swords  to  urge  them 
onward.  These  efforts  were  in  vain,  however. 
The  Germans  had  suddenly  lost  confidence  and 
become  demoralized. 

Like  any  other  machine,  they  ran  well  until 
something  went  wrong.  Something  had  suddenly 
gone  wrong  with  this  section  of  the  German  war 
machine,  and  like  a  pack  of  sheep  the  men  hud- 
dled closely  together  on  the  field,  an  easy  mark 
for  the  hail  of  bullets  poured  into  their  midst  from 
the  French  trenches. 


THE  INVADERS  ATTACK  205 

"They're  beaten!  They're  beaten!'*  shouted 
Leon  excitedly. 

' '  No  doubt  of  it, ' '  exclaimed  Jacques.  '  *  We  've 
got  them  now. ' ' 

"Look  there!" 

The  French  officers  were  shouting  to  their  men 
and  running  up  and  down  behind  the  trenches. 

"It's  the  order  to  charge,"  cried  Leon. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  CHARGE 

OUT  of  the  trenches  swarmed  the  French 
troops.  Their  opportunity  had  come  and 
they  were  fully  aware  of  it.  Now  was 
the  time  to  strike  and  every  man  was  eager  to  take 
advantage  of  the  moment. 

Leon  looked  about  him  as  he  clambered  out  of 
his  place  and  took  his  stand  upon  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. His  companions  were  like  wild  men.  The 
fire  of  battle  and  of  victory  was  in  their  eyes  andi 
they  acted  like  blooded  dogs  straining  at  the 
leash.  Their  enemies  were  demoralized,  on  the 
verge  of  rout,  and  every  soldier  of  France  was 
impatient  to  hasten  that  rout  and  to  have  a  share 
in  accomplishing  it. 

The  long  cruel  bayonets  gleamed  in  the  rays  of 
the  morning  sunlight  as  the  men  quickly  formed 
and  awaited  the  order  to  advance.  Leon  could 
not  help  shuddering,  in  spite  of  himself,  as  he 
thought  of  the  frightful  damage  that  could  be 
done  by  those  slim  blades  of  cold  steel. 

It  was  to  be  man  against  man  now,  however, 

206 


THE  CHAEGE  207 

and  the  young  soldier  had  no  intention  of  dealing 
gently  with  his  opponents.  The  smoke  of  battle 
filled  his  nostrils,  while  his  ears  thrummed  with 
the  roar  of  the  big  guns.  His  fighting  spirit  was 
aroused  and  he  found  himself  almost  as  eager  as 
his  companions  for  the  word  to  advance. 

To  Leon  it  seemed  as  if  hours  passed  before  this 
order  came.  In  reality  only  a  few  seconds  had 
elapsed,  but  at  such  a  time  a  whole  lifetime  some- 
times seems  to  be  crowded  into  a  few  short  mo- 
ments. 

Now  they  were  off!  Leon  and  Jacques  found 
themselves  in  the  midst  of  a  yelling  crowd  of 
frenzied  Frenchmen,  every  man  intent  on  dealing 
out  death  and  destruction  to  the  Germans  on  the 
field  before  them.  The  noise  was  almost  deafen- 
ing. The  great  guns  of  the  Allies  sent  a  constant 
stream  of  shot  and  shell  into  the  opposing  ranks 
in  an  effort  to  aid  the  charge. 

Nor  were  the  Germans  idle.  Their  officers  had 
partly  succeeded  in  rallying  their  men  and  they 
evidently  intended  to  make  a  stand.  Their  guns 
were  turned  upon  the  mass  of  onrushing  French- 
men and  the  execution  they  wrought  was  deadly. 
Men  fell  by  scores,  but  the  advancing  lines  did  not 
stop.  On  they  went,  cheering  as  before,  one  fixed 
purpose  in  the  minds  of  all. 

"My  men  would  have  stormed  the  rock  of  Gib- 
raltar that  day,"  said  their  commander  proudly, 


208    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

a  week  later  when  he  was  recounting  the  story  to 
a  group  of  officers. 

Nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Germans  they  came. 
Leon  now  could  see  the  white,  set  faces  of  his  op- 
ponents. He  wondered  vaguely  if  he  would  ever 
live  to  reach  that  mass  of  grim  men  waiting  there 
for  him.  All  about  him  his  companions  were 
dropping.  The  rain  of  bullets  poured  into  their 
midst  was  causing  untold  havoc.  It  hardly 
seemed  possible  that  any  one  would  be  left 
alive. 

The  Germans  were  wavering,  however.  Ex- 
cited as  he  was,  Leon  could  see  that  plainly.  It  is 
one  thing  to  face  rifles  that  you  cannot  see.  It 
is  a  different  proposition,  however,  to  watch  long 
rows  of  men  rush  toward  you,  every  man  with  a 
shining  steel  bayonet  in  his  hands.  In  the  one 
case  you  can't  see  the  threatening  death,  but  in 
the  other  it  is  before  your  eyes  every  second  and 
it  requires  a  strong  man  to  wait  coolly  for  its 
arrival. 

The  Germans  hesitated.  They  appeared  unde- 
cided as  to  what  next  to  do.  And  then,  when  they 
realized  that  nothing  they  had  done  had  produced 
any  marked  effect  upon  the  Allies  and  that  noth- 
ing they  could  do  would  stop  them,  their  lines 
wavered  and  then  broke. 

In  vain  their  officers  pleaded  and  threatened. 
Demoralization  had  set  in  and  no  power  on  eartk 


THE  CHARGE  209 

could  rally  them  now.  The  Germans  turned  and 
fled. 

1 1  They  're  running !  They  're  running ! ' '  shouted 
Leon  and  Jacques,  both  wild  with  excitement. 

A  great  cheer  broke  from  the  French  ranks,  and 
waving  their  rifles  on  high  the  men  increased  their 
speed.  They  were  almost  upon  the  fleeing  Ger- 
mans now.  Artillery,  rifles,  anything  that  would 
retard  their  flight  was  thrown  aside  as  the  de- 
feated soldiers  ran  for  their  lives. 

But  the  French  were  soon  among  them  shoot- 
ing, striking  in  all  directions  and  on  every  side. 
They  were  revenging  themselves  for  their  burned 
homes,  their  battle-scarred  countryside,  and  their 
slain  fathers,  brothers,  and  sons.  Eevenge  was 
sweet  to  these  men  and  they  made  the  very  most 
of  it. 

The  German  regiments  were  literally  cut  to 
pieces.  The  field  was  strewn  with  the  bodies  of 
the  dead  and  dying.  Hundreds  lay  about  on  all 
sides.  Many  threw  up  their  hands  in  token  of 
surrender  and  these  alone  were  unharmed  and 
quickly  made  prisoners. 

The  Germans  scattered  and  fled  at  their  utmost 
speed,  safety  being  the  uppermost  thought  in  the 
mind  of  every  one.  The  French  pursued  them  re- 
lentlessly and  almost  gleefully,  rejoicing  in  their 
victory  and  desperately  trying  to  make  it  as  de- 
cisive as  possible. 


210    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

Leon  and  Jacques  found  themselves  side  by  side 
and  unharmed  when  at  last  the  fighting  was  over. 
The  German  line  had  been  completely  routed  and 
aside  from  the  dead  and  wounded  left  behind  not 
one  remained  on  the  battle  field.  Here  and  there 
in  the  distance  a  squad  of  Frenchmen  still  could 
be  seen  in  pursuit  of  one  of  their  foes,  but  other- 
wise the  struggle  was  all  ended.  The  French 
were  left  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  ground. 

"What  a  fight!"  exclaimed  Leon,  mopping  his 
brow. 

"What  a  success  it  was!"  said  Jacques  en- 
thusiastically. "My  only  regret  is  that  I  didn't 
reach  this  spot  before  the  Germans  left  it.  I'd 
like  to  have  been  able  to  strike  a  few  blows  at 
them  myself." 

"It  would  have  been  necessary  for  us  to  run 
much  faster  than  we  did  to  get  here  in  time  for 
that,"  laughed  Leon.  "They  didn't  wait  very 
long. ' ' 

"I  should  say  not.  We  took  a  lot  of  prisoners 
though. ' ' 

"Yes,  we  did,"  agreed  Leon.  "Look  at  them 
over  there.  Evidently  some  of  the  Germans 
waited  here  at  any  rate.  Not  because  they  wished 
to,  though." 

"And  the  prisoners  are  not  the  only  ones  who 
remained  either,"  said  Jacques  grimly.  "Look 
at  the  ground  out  there." 


THE  CHARGE  211 

"It  is  awful!"  shuddered  Leon.  "Doesn't  it 
seem  a  shame  that  fine,  brave  men  like  that  have 
to  be  killed  or  wounded  or  perhaps  maimed  for 
life?  And  they  didn't  start  the  war  themselves 
you  know." 

"You're  not  getting  soft  hearted,  are  you?" 

"Not  a  bit." 

"Do  you  feel  sorry  for  the  Germans  who  were 
killed  and  wounded?" 

' '  Of  course  I  do.    Why  shouldn  't  1 1 " 

"They  are  our  enemies." 

"Perhaps  they  are,"  said  Leon.  "At  the  same 
time  they  are  brave  men  and  I  feel  sorry  for  them. 
That  doesn't  mean  I  don't  intend  to  fight  against 
them,  just  as  hard  as  ever.  But  these  men  out 
here  I  have  no  grudge  against  and  I  feel  sorry  for 
any  man  who  is  suffering." 

"You  are  an  American,  that's  why  you  sym- 
pathize with  these  men,"  said  Jacques.  "If  you 
were  French  or  Belgian  or  British  you'd  feel  dif- 
ferently. ' ' 

"Perhaps.  Still  I  hate  to  see  any  one  suffer 
and  so  do  you,  too." 

"Not  these  men." 

"Yes,  you  do,  or  you're  different  from  the  rest 
of  your  countrymen." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

* '  Look  out  there, ' '  directed  Leon.  ' '  Our  troops 
are  caring  for  the  wounded  and  they  are  taking 


212    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

just  as  good  care  of  the  Germans  as  they  are  of 
their  own  men. ' ' 

"Perhaps  you're  right,"  agreed  Jacques,  after 
a  moment  spent  in  watching  the  acts  of  mercy  be- 
ing performed  on  the  battle-scarred  field.  "Let's 
go  and  see  what  we  can  do  to  help." 

"That's  the  way,"  cried  Leon.  "I've -always 
said  that  Frenchmen  were  good  sports  and  now 
I  know  it. ' ' 

The  two  young  soldiers  were  soon  busily  en- 
gaged in  assisting  in  caring  for  the  wounded  and 
in  carrying  them  to  the  motor-ambulances  that 
were  now  making  their  appearance.  As  fast  as 
one  was  filled  it  bore  its  load  to  the  nearest  hos- 
pital, deposited  it  there  and  returned  for  more. 
The  work  progressed  rapidly.  Soon  the  wounded 
were  all  removed  and  the  dead  had  been  buried 
in  shallow  graves.  The  chaplain  said  a  few  words 
over  their  bodies,  then  the  earth  was  piled  on  top 
of  them  and  the  war  was  over,  as  far  as  they  were 
concerned. 

"I  don't  believe  I  could  stand  all  these  sights 
if  I  wasn't  pretty  well  hardened  to  them  now," 
said  Leon. 

"They  are  pretty  bad,"  agreed  Jacques. 

"Not  so  bad  when  the  fight  is  on.  You  don't 
notice  such  things  then  for  you  are  too  excited. 
But  when  it  is  all  over,  you  realize  just  how  aw- 
ful it  all  is." 


THE  CHARGE  213 

"  We  mustn't  think  about  that  part  of  it.  Let's 
try  to  forget  the  bad  things  and  see  if  we  can't 
plan  some  new  scheme  for  beating  the  Germans 
again." 

"Do  you  think  they'll  be  back!" 

"I  know  they  will.  We  beat  them  easily  that 
time  because  they  happened  to  become  demoral- 
ized, but  that  isn't  apt  to  happen  again." 

"They  won't  be  here  right  away,  though,"  said 
Leon.  "It'll  take  them  some  time  to  reform  their 
lines  and  get  reinforcements  enough  to  attack  us 
again. ' ' 

"Don't  be  too  sure." 

The  two  boys  were  now  put  to  work  along  with 
several  hundred  other  soldiers  digging  new 
trenches.  This  was  hard  work  and  not  of  the  sort 
enjoyed  by  many  of  the  men.  It  was  very  im- 
portant work  though  and  had  to  be  done  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

After  two  successful  engagements  the  Allied 
lines  had  made  a  gain  of  nearly  a  mile  that  day, 
and  in  order  to  hold  this  advantage  it  was  neces- 
sary to  entrench  strongly.  Every  man  was 
equipped  with  a  long  handled  shovel  and  was  set 
to  digging. 

To  the  two  boys  this  was  a  new  kind  of  labor 
and  one  which  called  into  play  muscles  long  un- 
used. Before  many  minutes  had  elapsed  their 
arms  were  aching  and  their  backs  were  sore. 


214    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"I  don't  like  this,"  said  Leon. 

"Nor  I,"  admitted  Jacques.  "This  is  part  of 
the  game  though,  and  I  guess  we'll  keep  on  digging 
whether  we  like  it  or  not. ' ' 

"Yes,  I  imagine  we  shall,"  smiled  Leon,  as  he 
turned  to  his  task  with  redoubled  zeal.  Even  the 
brief  time  that  he  had  been  a  soldier  had  instilled 
the  idea  in  his  head  that  he  was  to  do  exactly  what 
he  was  told.  The  idea  of  questioning  his  orders 
almost  made  him  laugh  now,  it  was  so  ridiculous. 
At  first  this  unquestioning  obedience  had  been 
hard  for  the  young  American  but  he  had  become 
so  accustomed  to  it  by  this  time  that  it  was  almost 
second  nature  to  him. 

They  dug  on  in  silence  for  some  time.  The 
trenches  were  almost  finished  now  and  the  main 
French  force  was  preparing  to  occupy  them.  The 
trenches  were  placed  on  the  tops  of  three  small 
hills  with  a  little  valley  between  them.  From 
their  places  on  top,  the  French  could  command  the 
approach  to  this  small  valley  and  make  it  decid- 
edly uncomfortable  for  any  force  that  might  try 
to  enter  it. 

"I'm  glad  that  job  is  over,"  exclaimed  Jacques 
sometime  later,  when  he  and  Leon  were  resting 
in  the  newly  completed  trenches. 

* '  So  am  I, ' '  said  Leon.    "  I  'm  tired,  too. ' ' 

"I  wish  they'd  give  us  an  aeroplane  and  send  us 
scouting,  don't  you!" 


THE  CHARGE  215 

"We  might  get  what  those  two  men  got  this 
morning. ' ' 

"I  guess  not.  We're  lucky,  you  know," 
laughed  Jacques. 

"Don't  I  hear  an  aeroplane  now?"  exclaimed 
Leon,  straightening  up. 

"You  certainly  do.    Here  it  comes  too." 

Over  their  heads  flew  one  of  the  French  army 
monoplanes  evidently  sent  to  find  out  what  the 
Germans  in  the  vicinity  were  planning  to  do.  No 
one  thought  for  a  moment  that  because  they  had 
sustained  a  reverse  the  Germans  would  stop  try- 
ing. In  fact  they  were  only  expected  to  re- 
double their  efforts  on  that  account.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  their  defeat  was  only  a  slight  one 
anyway,  when  measured  by  some  of  the  other 
battles  of  the  great  war.  In  the  reports  it  would 
probably  be  put  down  as  a  severe  skirmish. 

"They'll  get  lost  in  the  fog,"  said  Leon. 

"Fog,"  exclaimed  Jacques.  "Where  is  any 
fog?" 

"Just  look  out  over  that  field  and  you'll  see  it. 
Why  it  is  rising  right  up  out  of  the  ground." 

"I  wish  we  would  have  fog." 

"Why  do  you  wish  that?" 

"Because  I  have  a  scheme,"  said  Jacques  mys- 
teriously. "My  father  has  often  told  me  of  some- 
thing they  did  in  the  fog  during  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian War  in  1870.  I'd  like  to  try  it  myself." 


216    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"Can  you  do  it  alone!" 

"I  should  say  not.  It  would  take  about  all  the 
men  that  are  here." 

"How  are  you  going  to  work  it  then?" 

"I'd  have  to  suggest  it  to  one  of  the  officers 
and  get  him  to  try  it." 

"That  would  be  pretty  hard,  I  should  think," 
said  Leon. 

"I'm  afraid  so,  but  there  is  never  any  harm 
in  trying." 

* '  Tell  me  what  it  is  anyway, ' '  urged  Leon. 

"Not  at  all,"  smiled  Jacques.  "If  the  fog 
closes  in  I'll  tell  you,  but  not  otherwise." 


CHAPTER  XXin 

JACQUES'  SCHEME 

IN  spite  of  Leon's  entreaties  Jacques  would 
not  consent  to  disclose  the  nature  of  his 
scheme.  "If  the  fog  closes  in  very  thick 
I'll  tell  you,"  was  his  answer  to  every  question 
of  his  friend. 

"I  don't  see  your  point  in  not  telling  me," 
Leon  insisted. 

"There  is  no  point  at  all,"  replied  Jacques. 
"It  is  a  wild  scheme  and  you'd  probably  think 
I  was  crazy.  I  want  to  submit  it  to  our  com- 
mander first  and  if  he  is  agreeable  to  trying  it, 
you'll  know  soon  enough." 

"But  I  want  to  know  now." 

"You're  the  most  persistent  person  I've  ever 
seen,"  laughed  Jacques.  "I  warn  you  once  and 
for  all,  however,  that  I  shall  not  tell  you  what 
it  is  unless  the  fog  becomes  much  denser  and  un- 
less our  commander  thinks  well  of  it." 

"The  fog  is  much  thicker  already,"  exclaimed 
Leon,  jumping  to  his  feet  and  looking  about  him. 

"Not  thick  enough,  though." 

217 


218    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"I'll  stick  this  bayonet  into  you,"  threatened 
Leon,  pretending  to  reach  for  his  gun. 

"You  can't  even  scare  me  that  way,"  laughed 
Jacques.  "Here  comes  some  food  for  us  anyway, 
so  let's  declare  an  armistice  until  after  luncheon." 

"All  right,"  Leon  agreed.  "No  longer  than 
that,  though. '  * 

The  coarse  plain  fare  was  handed  out  to  the 
soldiers  who  did  not  leave  their  places  in  the 
trenches.  Every  man  was  hungry  however,  for 
it  had  been  a  hard  day  and  the  soldiers  had  worked 
valiantly. 

"The  best  meal  I  ever  ate,"  announced  Leon, 
as  he  drank  his  soup  and  munched  the  large  chunk 
of  black  bread  which  was  his  portion. 

"It  is  pretty  good,  isn't  it?"  said  Jacques. 
"I  didn't  realize  how  hungry  I  was  until  I  began 
to  eat.  I  think  I  could  eat  forever." 

"I  doubt  that,"  said  Leon,  laughing.  "I  know 
I  couldn't  anyway.  This  food  they  give  us  seems 
to  me  to  be  very  filling." 

"It's  wholesome  too,  you  may  be  sure  of  that." 

"Well,  I  haven't  complained  of  the  cooking 
yet.  So  far  I  am  very  well  satisfied  with  the 
board  I  am  getting." 

"You  are  perfectly  suited  with  this  hotel,  are 
you?"  Jacques  inquired. 

"Yes,  I  am.  That  is  there  is  only  one  thing 
I  want. ' ' 


JACQUES'  SCHEME  219 

"My  dear  sir,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  pretending 
great  politeness.  "Tell  me  what  it  is  you  wish 
and  I  shall  be  only  too  happy  to  accommodate 
you  if  it  is  in  my  power  to  do  so." 

"Do  you  mean  that?" 

"Of  course  I  do." 

"Very  well,  then,"  said  Leon  quickly.  "Tell 
me  what  your  scheme  is." 

"I  said  if  it  was  in  my  power  to  do  so  I  would 
accommodate  you." 

"That  is  in  your  power." 

"Let  me  see,"  said  Jacques,  standing  up  and 
looking  about  him.  i '  The  fog  is  closing  in  thicker 
every  minute,  isn't  it?" 

"It  certainly  is,"  Leon  agreed. 

"Perhaps  the  time  has  come  then." 

Before  Leon  could  restrain  him  Jacques  sprang 
from  his  place  in  the  trench  and  made  his  way 
quickly  to  the  spot  where  one  of  the  petty  of- 
ficers was  standing.  He  saluted,  spoke  a  few 
words  to  the  officer  in  a  low  voice  who  thereupon 
nodded  his  head,  and  Jacques  soon  disappeared 
in  the  fast  gathering  mist. 

Leon  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  his  friend's 
peculiar  actions.  He  stood  and  watched  him  for 
several  moments  until  he  was  out  of  sight  and 
then  resumed  his  place  in  the  trenches  once  more, 
completely  mystified.  As  he  sat  down  the  whirr 
of  propellers  over  his  head  made  him  look  up  in 


220    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

time  to  see  the  scout  aeroplane,  which  had  been 
sent  out  some  time  before,  returning. 

"Coming  back  before  they  get  lost  in  the  fog," 
thought  Leon. 

He  had  no  idea  of  what  Jacques  had  been  hint- 
ing at,  and  he  was  very  curious  to  know  just  what 
was  in  the  mind  of  the  young  Frenchman.  It 
was  not  like  Jacques  to  conceal  things  in  this 
way.  Perhaps  it  was  a  silly  scheme  after  all 
and  he  did  not  disclose  it  for  fear  of  being 
laughed  at.  Still,  thought  Leon,  he  had  rushed 
off  to  tell  it  to  their  commander  so  that  he  could 
not  have  considered  it  such  a  very  foolish  idea 
in  spite  of  his  remarks. 

While  Leon  was  revolving  these  many  thoughts 
in  his  mind  Jacques  suddenly  reappeared. 

"It's  all  right,"  he  announced. 

"What's  all  right?"  demanded  Leon. 

"My  scheme.  I  have  received  not  only  per- 
mission, but  an  order  to  try  it." 

"Tell  me  what  it  is." 

"I  haven't  time  now.  Come  along.  They're 
waiting  for  us. ' ' 

More  puzzled  than  ever  Leon  followed  his  com- 
panion. The  fog  was  now  so  dense  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  recognize  figures  at  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  thirty  or  forty  feet. 

Jacques  evidently  knew  just  where  he  wanted 
to  go  however,  and  the  two  young  soldiers  soon 


JACQUES'  SCHEME  221 

arrived  at  their  destination.  This  proved  to  be 
the  headquarters  of  their  commander.  Here  was 
gathered  quite  a  large  company  of  soldiers,  at 
least  a  hundred,  Leon  thought.  In  the  thick  mist 
the  men  appeared  almost  like  ghosts  and  it  was 
impossible  to  estimate  accurately  just  how  many 
there  were. 

Every  man  was  furnished  with  a  small  hatchet, 
and  the  word  was  soon  given  to  march.  Leon  had 
remained  close  beside  Jacques  all  the  time,  but 
thus  far  he  had  had  no  chance  to  question  him, 
and  their  mission  still  remained  a  deep  mystery 
to  him. 

They  moved  slowly  forward,  marching  past 
their  trenches  down  the  hill  and  on  into  the  small 
valley.  They  did  not  stop  here,  however,  but  kept 
on  until  they  reached  a  large  field,  nearly  a  half 
mile  beyond  their  lines.  ''There's  a  German 
regiment  about  a  mile  from  here,"  said  Jacques 
finally. 

''How  do  you  know?"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"When  I  was  at  headquarters  that  aviator  we 
saw  start  out  a  while  ago  arrived.  He  reported 
one  of  the  Baden  regiments  resting  on  their  arms 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  away." 

"What  are  we  going  to  do?" 

"We're  after  that  regiment." 

"With  axes?"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Was  that 
your  scheme!" 


222    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"You'll  see  in  a  moment." 

The  boys  had  been  conversing  in  low  tones  as 
they  walked  along,  and  as  Jacques  ceased  speak- 
ing the  order  came  to  halt. 

The  company  halted  and  several  of  the  men 
were  sent  to  reconnoiter  the  surrounding  country. 
The  rest  of  the  soldiers  awaited  their  return  in 
silence. 

" What's  up?"  whispered  Leon. 

"Ssh,"  Jacques  cautioned.  "I  can't  tell  you 
now." 

No  further  words  were  spoken  and  silence 
reigned  throughout  the  whole  body  of  men.  Most 
of  them  were  in  the  same  predicament  as  Leon; 
they  did  not  know  why  they  were  there  or  what 
they  were  expected  to  do.  An  air  of  mystery 
pervaded  the  proceedings  and  if  the  others  were 
of  the  same  mind  as  the  young  American  boy  they 
certainly  were  burning  with  curiosity. 

The  figures  of  their  companions  appeared  dim 
and  shadowy  in  the  dense  fog  that  drifted  in  and 
covered  everything  with  its  damp  folds.  An  air 
of  tense  excitement  pervaded  the  men  which  the 
thick  mist  and  the  mystery  of  their  expedition 
only  served  to  increase. 

Suddenly  a  stir  was  felt  all  along  the  line. 
Some  one  was  coming  and  it  proved  to  be  the 
scouting  party  returning.  Its  leader  made  his 


JACQUES'  SCHEME  223 

report  to  the  commanding  officer  who  turned  and 
addressed  a  few  curt  orders  to  his  men. 

The  soldiers  immediately  broke  ranks  and  scat- 
tered in  all  directions,  while  Jacques  translated 
the  orders  to  Leon.  All  the  young  American  had 
understood  was  some  word  about  a  tree. 

"We  are  each  to  cut  three  saplings  between 
five  and  six  feet  high,"  he  said. 

"Fire-wood  to  cook  dinner  with,  I  suppose," 
remarked  Leon. 

"Don't  be  sarcastic." 

"I  can't  help  it.  I  don't  like  this  business  of 
not  knowing  what  I  am  doing.  Everything  is  so 
secret  it  makes  me  mad." 

"Don't  forget  this,  Leon,"  said  Jacques  quietly. 
"A  soldier's  duty  is  to  obey  his  orders  and  noth- 
ing else.  Suppose  it  was  necessary  to  explain 
every  move  that  was  made  to  all  the  troops. 
Wouldn't  that  be  a  nice  state  of  affairs?" 

"That's  all  right,  too,  but  you  wouldn't  tell 
me  what  you  had  in  mind  and  you're  not  an  of- 
ficer. At  least  not  yet." 

"I  didn't  feel  sure  that  I  had  any  right  to  tell 
you,"  exclaimed  Jacques.  "You  know  I'd  tell 
you  anything  if  I  thought  it  was  all  right  to  do 
so." 

"Don't  you  trust  me?" 

"Of  course  I   do.    Please  don't  say  such  a 


224    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

thing,  and  you  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  that 
was  not  the  reason  why  I  kept  silent. ' ' 

1  'I  guess  I  was  wrong,"  said  Leon  soberly. 
"It's  really  none  of  my  business  what  we  are  go- 
ing to  do,  and  I  won't  make  another  mistake." 

"I  don't  want  you  to  have  any  hard  feelings 
toward  me,"  said  Jacques. 

"You  know  I  haven't  any,  and  never  shall 
have, ' '  exclaimed  Leon  impetuously.  * '  The  whole 
thing  was  my  fault  and  I  had  forgotten  that  part 
of  what  a  soldier 's  duty  is  until  you  reminded  me 
of  it  just  now.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for 
telling  me,  too,  and  I  trust  I  Ve  learned  my  lesson. 
I'm  glad  you  told  me  what  you  did,  for  if  you 
hadn't  some  one  else  would  and  he  wouldn't  be 
as  nice  about  it  either." 

"Here  are  the  saplings,"  exclaimed  Jacques 
suddenly. 

"Three  apiece  you  said,  didn't  you?"  remarked 
Leon  as  he  set  to  work. 

"Yes,  three,  and  we  are  to  be  as  quiet  as  pos- 
sible while  we  are  working  too." 

Both  boys  immediately  set  to  work  at  their  task. 
Leon  felt  ashamed  of  himself  in  the  face  of  the 
quiet  rebuke  his  comrade  had  administered  and 
he  made  up  his  mind  that  never  again  would  he 
forget  himself  as  he  had  that  day.  He  realized 
that  curiosity  as  to  orders  was  not  a  part  of 


JACQUES'  SCHEME  225 

a  good  soldier's  makeup  and  from  now  on  he  was 
determined  to  be  a  good  soldier. 

In  a  very  few  moments  both  young  boys  had 
cut  their  allotment  of  saplings.  They  were  ready 
to  return. 

"You'll  see  something  interesting  now,"  re- 
marked Jacques  as  they  made  their  way  back  to 
the  place  where  the  rest  of  their  company  was 
waiting. 

This  was  indeed  true.  When  they  arrived  at 
their  destination  every  man  was  busy  driving 
his  sapling  into  the  ground.  The  branches  had 
been  trimmed  from  them  and  one  end  sharpened. 
This  was  driven  into  the  ground  a  few  inches, 
so  that  it  stood  solidly. 

" About  ten  feet  apart,"  suggested  Jacques. 

"The  stakes,  you  mean?"  asked  Leon. 

"Yes.    Drive  them  in  so  they'll  stand  firmly." 

Puzzled  as  he  was,  Leon  made  no  remark  but 
did  as  he  was  told.  When  his  three  stakes  had 
been  planted  he  and  Jacques  joined  the  rest  of 
their  company  which  now  was  forming  some  little 
distance  away.  When  every  man  was  back  in  his 
place,  a  half  dozen  soldiers  with  huge  bags  started 
out  along  the  many  stakes  standing  all  about 
them. 

"Watch  these  fellows,"  whispered  Jacques. 

They  went  rapidly  from  one  stake  to  another 


226    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

and  taking  soldiers'  caps  from  the  bags  they  car- 
ried they  placed  one  on  the  top  of  each  stake.  In 
a  very  few  moments  every  stake  was  adorned  with 
one  of  these  pieces  of  headgear. 

"Why,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "In  this  fog  they 
look  like  soldiers." 

"That's  what  they're  supposed  to  look  like," 
said  Jacques  eagerly.  "Do  you  really  think  any 
one  would  be  fooled  by  them?" 

"I  don't  see  why  not." 

"Well,  they'll  look  still  more  like  soldiers  in  a 
little  while,"  went  on  Jacques.  "There  will  be 
some  boughs  hung  on  the  stakes  to  make  them 
look  fatter." 

"I'm  beginning  to  see  your  scheme,"  said  Leon 
quietly. 

"Of  course  you  are.  By  this  time  there  is  a 
large  force  of  our  troops  on  each  side  of  us  and 
one  from  the  direction  in  which  we  came." 

"And  we're  to  lure  the  Germans  into  a  trap 
here,  I  suppose." 

"Exactly.  If  we  can  get  that  Baden  regiment 
to  chase  us  and  lead  them  back  here,  there'll  be 
some  action,  I  can  tell  you. ' ' 

"This  was  all  your  scheme,  too,"  exclaimed 
Leon,  looking  at  his  companion  in  admiration. 
"You're  a  wonder,  Jacques." 

"Wait  and  see.  The  scheme  hasn't  been  suc- 
cessful yet  and  anyway  it  wasn't  my  scheme.  I 


JACQUES'  SCHEME  227 

told  you  my  father  was  with  a  regiment  that  did 
exactly  the  same  thing  in  the  Franco-Prussian 
Wa.." 

A  sharp  order  put  an  end  to  all  further  con- 
versation between  the  two  young  soldiers.  The 
command  to  march  had  been  given  and  the  com- 
pany immediately  moved. 

''We're  going  to  try  to  lure  the  Germans  on 
now,"  exclaimed  Jacques,  in  a  low  voice.  ll Let's 
hope  we  have  good  luck. ' ' 

"We  always  have  that." 

As  they  made  their  way  cautiously  forward  into 
the  fog,  the  two  boys  looked  behind  them.  The 
field  of  sticks,  every  one  adorned  with  a  cap,  cer- 
tainly presented  the  appearance  of  a  body  of 
troops,  and  as  Leon  and  Jacques  saw  them 
through  the  fog  they  were  startled  for  a  moment 
themselves  as  the  ghostlike  figures  nodded  in  the 
mist. 


H 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  SUCCESSFUL  EUSB 

* <  Y    Y  OW  near  are  we  to  this  German  regi- 
ment?" Leon  inquired. 

"I've  no  idea.    Our  scouts  prob- 
ably have  located  them,  however." 

They  marched  on  in  silence  for  some  distance 
when  Leon  suddenly  turned  to  Jacques. 

"I  just  happened  to  think,"  he  exclaimed. 
"What  is  there  to  prevent  us  from  being  shot 
down  along  with  the  Germans?  If  we  are  suc- 
cessful in  leading  them  into  our  trap  I  don't  see 
how  our  troops  can  tell  us  apart. ' ' 

Jacques  merely  laughed  at  this.  "I  forgot  that 
you  don 't  understand  French  very  well, ' '  he  said. 
"Consequently  you  didn't  hear  what  was  said 
about  that." 

"No,  of  course  I  didn't." 

"This  is  what  we  are  to  do.  Just  before  we 
reach  the  scarecrows  on  our  fake  retreat  we  are 
to  turn  off  sharply  to  the  left.  The  Germans 
won't  be  able  to  see  us  in  this  fog  and  they'll 
keep  straight  ahead,  at  least  we  hope  they  will." 

228 


A  SUCCESSFUL  EUSE  229 

"Well,  how  are  we  going  to  tell  when  we  our- 
selves are  close  to  the  scarecrows ! ' ' 

" Don't  worry  about  that.  We  will  have  men 
posted  to  warn  us." 

"All  right,  then,"  said  Leon.  "Now  that 
everything  is  provided  for  I  am  anxious  to  start 
the  fun.  Bring  on  your  Germans!" 

"You'll  see  them  soon  enough,  and  it  will  be  a 
ticklish  piece  of  work  too,  I  can  tell  you.  We'd 
better  not  talk  any  more  either  or  we  may  get 
in  trouble." 

On  through  the  fog  they  went.  Now  and  again 
a  halt  was  called,  while  a  few  men  were  sent  ahead 
to  see  if  they  were  approaching  the  Germans. 
Upon  receiving  a  report  that  they  had  not  yet 
come  within  striking  distance,  the  order  was 
given  to  proceed  once  more.  This  occurred  sev- 
eral times  and  on  every  new  occasion  additional 
caution  was  exercised.  Evidently  it  was  ex- 
pected that  the  Germans  would  be  encountered  at 
any  moment  now. 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  French  were 
armed  with  rifles.  These  soldiers  took  the  front 
rank  and  were  to  fire  a  few  volleys  into  the  ranks 
of  the  Germans  when  they  should  come  within 
range.  The  rest  of  the  men  were  merely  to  show 
themselves  and  give  the  impression  that  their 
forces  were  considerable.  The  number  of  men 
sent  on  the  expedition  was  believed  to  be  sum- 


230    WITH  JOFFBE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

ciently  large  to  tempt  the  Germans  into  pursuing 
them. 

After  each  volley  it  was  planned  that  the  French 
should  retreat  a  few  yards  into  the  fog.  The 
idea  was  to  expose  themselves  as  little  as  possible, 
but  continually  to  draw  on  the  enemy. 

"This  will  be  our  last  stop  before  the  fun  be- 
gins, I  think,"  whispered  Jacques  when  they  had 
halted  for  at  least  the  sixth  time. 

"I  hope  so,"  answered  Leon.  "I'm  beginning 
to  get  nervous  and  I  wish  something  would  hap- 
pen." 

"Here  we  go,"  exclaimed  Jacques  as  the  word 
came  to  advance. 

In  open  formation  the  French  slowly  moved 
forward.  Their  line  was  spread  over  consider- 
able ground  and  every  man  was  left  more  or  less 
to  his  own  devices.  At  a  time  like  this  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  maintain  any  regular  forma- 
tion. The  orders  had  been  issued  and  the  men 
were  expected  to  follow  them  to  the  best  of  their 
ability. 

Slowly  and  cautiously  they  crept  forward.  The 
game  they  were  playing  was  a  dangerous  one  and 
great  caution  was  necessary.  Leon  and  Jacques 
had  kept  side  by  side  and  they  both  saw  the  Ger- 
mans at  the  same  moment.  A  dark  mass  sud- 
denly loomed'  up  through  the  mist  in  front  of 
them,  and  the  two  boys  immediately  stopped. 


A  SUCCESSFUL  RUSE  231 

Their  companions  had  also  seen  the  Germans. 
The  soldiers  that  had  guns  fired  into  the  midst 
of  the  regiment  halted  there  before  them,  and 
then  all  the  French  immediately  retreated.  Not 
so  far,  however,  as  to  lose  sight  of  their  foes 
who  returned  their  fire  at  once. 

Sharp  commands  could  be  heard  as  they  were 
issued  by  the  German  officers.  The  pursuit  of 
the  French  who  had  dared  to  fire  on  them  was 
started  with  no  loss  of  time.  It  was  evidently  the 
opinion  of  the  German  officers  that  a  considerable 
force  of  the  French  had  blundered  upon  them  in 
the  fog  and  they  were  determined  to  waste  no 
time  in  joining  battle. 

Neither  Leon  nor  Jacques  was  armed  except 
for  their  automatic  revolvers,  but  they  played 
their  part  well.  After  each  volley  they  turned 
and  ran  rapidly  in  the  direction  whence  they  had 
come  and  continued  until  they  were  out  of  sight 
of  the  Germans.  Then  they  stopped  and  waited 
with  the  rest  of  their  company  until  the  oncoming 
Germans  once  more  appeared.  Then  the  same 
maneuver  was  repeated. 

That  the  ruse  was  working  successfully  was 
made  plain  by  the  fact  that  the  Germans  still 
pursued  them.  They  fired  many  shots  on  their 
part  also,  but  as  far  as  Leon  or  Jacques  could  tell 
none  of  their  own  men  had  been  struck.  It  was 
also  likely  that  the  French  bullets  had  done  slight 


232    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

damage.  In  so  dense  a  fog  it  was  out  of  the 
question  to  shoot  accurately,  unless  one  knew  the 
range.  The  reserve  troops  waiting  on  the  three 
sides  of  the  dummy  army  in  the  rear,  had  obtained 
the  range,  however,  and  if  they  should  ever  get 
an  opportunity  to  shoot,  they  would  unquestion- 
ably cause  a  great  deal  of  havoc. 

"It's  working  like  a  charm,  Jacques,"  ex- 
claimed Leon  excitedly,  as  they  halted  after  one 
of  their  short  retreats. 

"So  far  it  is,"  replied  Jacques.  "I  hope  I 
live  to  see  it  end  successfully." 

As  he  finished  speaking  a  bullet  whined  past 
them,  making  its  way  directly  between  the  two 
young  soldiers.  They  both  ducked  involuntarily, 
though  they  knew  that  of  course  the  bullet  must 
have  already  passed  them  or  they  could  not  have 
heard  it. 

"Whew,  that  was  close!"  exclaimed  Jacques. 

"Too  close  for  comfort  I  should  say,"  replied 
Leon.  "I  wouldn't  mind  it  so  much  if  we  only 
had  a  couple  of  rifles  and  could  return  the  compli- 
ment." 

"We  have  our  pistols." 

1 '  It  would  only  be  a  waste  of  ammunition  to  fire 
them." 

"Perhaps  you're  right.  Here  they  come  again, 
anyway. ' ' 

The  shadowy  forms  of  the  Germans  once  more 


A  SUCCESSFUL  RUSE  233 

appeared,  advancing  through  the  mist.  A  volley 
was  fired  by  the  French  and  then  as  before  they  all 
turned  and  ran.  Bullets  whistled  over  their 
heads  and  the  spiteful  bark  of  the  German  guns 
sounded  over  the  field. 

"The  Germans  are  using  more  guns  than  they 
were,"  exclaimed  Leon. 

"I  think  they  are.  The  whole  regiment  must 
be  after  us  now." 

"We  must  be  getting  near  home,  too,  I  should 
think." 

"It  seems  so,  but  it  is  hard  to  tell  in  this  fog." 

"Let's  hope  we  are  going  in  the  right  direction 
anyway. ' ' 

"We're  all  right  enough  on  that  score,  I'm 
sure, ' '  said  Jacques  confidently. 

Again  the  Germans  appeared.  Again  the 
French  fired  a  volley  and  once  more  they  turned 
and  ran.  They  had  covered  only  a  few  paces, 
when  they  encountered  the  sentries  posted  near 
the  army  of  scarecrows. 

"This  way,  Leon!  This  way!"  shouted 
Jacques. 

"Go  ahead,  I'll  follow  right  behind  you,"  re- 
sponded Leon,  and  veering  sharply  to  their  left 
the  two  young  soldiers  ran  at  top  speed  for  their 
lives.  To  have  remained  where  they  were  would 
have  meant  almost  certain  death,  for  on  three 
sides  of  the  field  were  hundreds  of  French  rifles 


234    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

and  at  least  a  score  of  machine  guns.  All  were 
trained  upon  the  very  spot  which  the  two  boys 
were  fast  leaving  behind  them  in  their  mad  flight. 

"Run,  Leon,  run!"  panted  Jacques. 

"I'm  running  all  right,"  gasped  Leon,  who  was 
only  a  stride  behind  his  friend.  On  all  sides  of 
them  were  other  men  of  their  force,  every  man 
putting  forth  his  best  efforts  to  cover  the  ground 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  was  a  strange  sight 
to  see  all  these  ghostly  figures  fleeing  through  the 
mist  and  Leon  could  not  help  comparing  the 
scene  with  the  start  of  a  gigantic  cross-country 
race.  This  was  a  race  for  life,  however.  At  any 
moment  the  French  guns  might  open  fire  and  woe 
to  any  man  caught  in  that  deadly  rain  of  lead. 

Suddenly  Jacques  stumbled.  His  foot  had 
caught  in  a  bramble  and  before  he  could  regain 
his  balance  he  plunged  forward  and  fell  prone  on 
his  face.  Leon,  only  a  step  behind,  was  unable 
to  change  his  course  in  time  to  save  himself  and 
he  too  fell  headlong  over  the  prostrate  body  of 
his  young  companion. 

Both  were  slightly  stunned  for  a  moment  and 
before  they  could  recover  themselves  and  start 
again  the  battle  began.  From  all  sides  came  the 
spit  of  the  rifles  and  the  rattle  of  machine  guns. 
While  they  were  at  least  seventy-five  yards  dis- 
tant from  the  scarecrows,  the  two  young  soldiers 


A  SUCCESSFUL  RUSE  235 

were  still  between  the  battle  lines  and  their  plight 
was  a  serious  one. 

"  Quick,  Jacques!  Come  over  here!"  ex- 
claimed Leon.  He  had  discovered  a  huge  boulder 
near  at  hand  and  in  the  shelter  of  this  great  rock 
the  two  boys  took  refuge. 

"We're  in  for  it  now,"  panted  Jacques  as  he 
scrambled  to  a  place  alongside  his  companion. 
"What  a  fool  I  was  to  trip  that  way." 

"Never  mind  that,  Jacques.  You  couldn't  help 
it." 

"It  was  so  clumsy  of  me,  though." 

"Forget  about  it  and  listen  to  those  guns. 
We'd  better  give  thanks  that  we  are  where  we 
are  and  not  where  that  German  regiment  is  just 
now." 

"I  wonder  if  they're  in  the  trap." 

"There's  no  doubt  of  it,"  said  Leon  confidently. 
"Just  as  we  got  on  our  feet  again  I  heard  them 
cheer.  They  had  evidently  caught  sight  of  the 
scarecrows,  mistaken  them  for  our  soldiers  and 
started  to  charge.  I  suppose  that  when  they 
cheered  that  was  the  signal  for  our  men  to  open 
fire." 

"Poor  fellows,  I  feel  sort  of  sorry  for  them 
now.  Just  think,  it  was  my  suggestion  that 
brought  them  to  their  destruction,  too." 

"This    is    war,    Jacques,"    exclaimed    Leon. 


236    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

1  'How  many  times  have  you  reminded  me  of  that 
fact?  You  did  your  duty  and  you'll  probably  be 
promoted. ' ' 

"What  nonsense,"  said  Jacques  quickly.  He 
disliked  to  hear  himself  praised  and  immediately 
changed  the  subject.  "Listen  to  our  guns,"  he 
cried.  "There  won't  be  a  single  German  left 
in  a  few  moments  if  it  keeps  up  at  this  rate." 

"They're  returning  the  fire,  all  right,"  said 
Leon.  "Look  there." 

He  pointed  as  he  spoke  to  a  furrow  in  the  soft 
earth  not  four  feet  from  where  they  were  sitting. 
A  shot  had  struck  that  spot  and  plowed  up  the 
ground  for  a  distance  of  almost  a  foot. 

"That  was  coming  our  way,  too,"  exclaimed 
Jacques. 

"It  certainly  was,  and  I  don't  like  this  seat  very 
much  either." 

"Where  can  we  go?  We  are  at  least  safe  from 
our  own  guns  here  and  they  would  be  more  likely 
to  hit  us  than  the  Germans." 

"I  know  it,"  said  Leon  ruefully.  "I  realize 
that  we  can't  move,  but  that  doesn't  make  me 
like  our  position  any  better." 

The  firing  kept  up  incessantly.  The  Germans 
had  replied  strongly  to  it  at  first,  but  little  by 
little  their  resistance  weakened.  Evidently  they 
had  become  bewildered  when  they  discovered  the 
trap  into  which  they  had  been  led.  Then  too  the 


A  SUCCESSFUL  RUSE  237 

rain  of  bullets  poured  into  their  midst  out  of  the 
fog  must  have  further  added  to  their  confusion. 
The  best  of  discipline  and  the  very  stoutest  of 
hearts  might  well  fail  under  such  circumstances. 

"Our  men  don't  seem  to  be  easing  up  any,  do 
they?"  said  Leon  after  a  few  moments  in  which 
he  and  Jacques  sat  in  silence,  huddled  up  close  to 
their  protecting  boulder. 

"Not  much.  I  guess  they  want  to  do  the  job 
up  right." 

"But  they  can't  see  what  they're  shooting  at." 

"They  don't  need  to.  "With  all  those  machine 
guns  they  can  sweep  practically  every  inch  of  the 
ground  and  a  man  wouldn't  stand  a  ghost  of  a 
show  to  escape  alive." 

"Thank  goodness  for  this  big  rock  is  all  I  can 
say,"  ejaculated  Leon. 

"I  should  say  so.    Listen  to  that!" 

On  the  opposite  side  of  their  stone  refuge  could 
be  heard  the  patter  of  bullets  striking  hard  and 
fast.  This  continued  for  a  moment  while  the 
two  young  soldiers  crouched  lower  and  lower  in 
an  effort  to  make  themselves  as  inconspicuous 
as  possible.  The  hail  of  lead  could  next  be  heard 
playing  over  the  ground  nearby.  The  earth  flew 
up  in  tiny  clouds  and  the  bullets  striking  the 
leaves  and  bushes,  sounded  like  the  patter  of 
heavy  hailstones  during  a  summer  shower. 

"Tell  them  to  fire  somewhere  else,  Jacques," 


238    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

exclaimed  Leon.    "It  makes  me  nervous  to  have 

them  so  near  to  us." 
"They  can't  hit  us,"  said  Jacques  confidently. 

"They're  just  making  sure  that  they  aren't  going 

to  miss  any  one.    It  would  be  too  bad  if  any  of 

the  Germans  should  be  slighted." 
"I  wish  we  could  see  what  is  going  on." 
"Well,  I'm  glad  the  Germans  can't  see  us." 
"That's  true,  but  by  this  time  I  guess  they 

wouldn't  do  us  very  much  damage." 

"No,    I    should    say    not,"    agreed    Jacques. 

"Don't  I  feel  a  little  breeze  blowing  now?    If  I 

do  this  fog  will  go  away  and  we'll  be  able  to  see 

what  has  happened  here  in  front  of  us." 

"Yes,  I  think  there  is  a  breeze,"  said  Leon. 

"We  should  be  able  to  get  back  to  our  lines  in  a 

few  moments  if  it  only  keeps  up." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

CONCLUSION 

THE  breeze  freshened,  and,  as  it  blew  over 
the  battlefield,  the  fog  slowly  lifted. 
Little  by  little  the  mist  cleared  away  and 
presently  it  became  possible  to  distinguish  objects 
at  a  considerable  distance. 

Firing  on  the  part  of  the  Germans  had  almost 
ceased.  Now  and  again  the  sound  of  rifle  shots 
was  heard,  coming  from  the  place  that  the  army 
of  scarecrows  had  occupied,  but  the  shots  were 
few  and  far  between.  The  French  guns  too  were 
practically  silent. 

"The  fight  is  over,  I  guess,"  exclaimed  Leon  at 
last. 

"So  it  seems.  I'd  like  to  see  what  has  become 
of  that  German  regiment,  though,"  replied 
Jacques.  "I  wonder  if  many  escaped." 

"I  don't  see  how  they  could  escape.  Anyway, 
we'll  be  able  to  see  in  a  few  moments  now.  I 
wonder  who  it  is  that  is  doing  the  firing  down 
there." 

"There  can't  be  many  of  them." 

239 


240    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"No,  indeed,  but  I  don't  see  how  it  is  that  any 
one  would  stay  there  if  he  was  alive  and  could 
walk." 

"How  could  they  get  away?"  demanded 
Jacques. 

'  *  We  held  them  on  only  three  sides.  They  could 
retreat  the  way  they  came." 

"No,  they  couldn't  either.  As  soon  as  the  fir- 
ing began,  we  sent  troops  to  close  up  that  gap 
too.  They  were  caught  in  a  complete  trap." 

"A  pretty  good  scheme  of  yours,  Jacques,  I 
should  say,"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Look,"  he  added 
quickly.  "There  are  the  men  who  are  doing  all 
the  shooting." 

The  fog  suddenly  swept  clear  the  field  where 
once  the  German  regiment  had  stood.  And  what 
a  sight  it  was  that  greeted  the  gaze  of  the  two 
young  soldiers  crouched  behind  the  boulder.  The 
ground  seemed  to  be  literally  covered  with  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  and  wounded.  The  entire  regi- 
ment practically  had  been  annihilated. 

Apparently  only  five  of  the  Germans  were  left. 
They  lay  prone  on  their  stomachs,  and  as  rapidly 
as  they  could  load  their  rifles  they  used  them  to 
show  their  defiance  of  their  French  foes.  The 
five  men  went  coolly  about  their  task,  and,  formed 
in  a  circle,  they  presented  a  bold  front  to  their 
opponents  on  every  side. 

"What  a  sight!"  exclaimed  Leon.     "There  are 


CONCLUSION  241 

certainly  five  brave  men  left  on  that  field.  Did 
you  ever  see  anything  like  that?" 

"I  never  did,"  replied  Jacques. 

"Look  there,"  said  Leon.  "Our  men  are  giv- 
ing them  a  cheer. ' ' 

Sure  enough  the  French  soldiers,  always  ready 
to  admire  and  applaud  bravery,  in  a  great  cheer 
were  voicing  their  regard  for  the  five  brave 
Germans.  The  French  firing  had  entirely 
ceased,  and  as  the  cheer  rang  out  over  the  blood- 
stained battlefield,  the  five  Germans  rose  to  their 
feet.  They  held  up  their  hands  in  token  of  sur- 
render, and  once  more  they  were  loudly  cheered. 

A  squad  of  soldiers  made  their  way  out  from 
the  French  lines,  the  Germans  surrendered  their 
arms  and  were  led  back  as  prisoners. 

Then  the  Bed  Cross  workers  immediately  pre- 
pared to  do  all  in  their  power  for  the  sufferers  on 
the  field.  Ambulances  were  brought  up  and  the 
doctors  and  surgeons  set  to  work  to  administer  the 
first  aid  to  the  injured. 

1 1  Let 's  move ! ' '  said  Jacques  suddenly.  He  and 
Leon  had  been  sitting  as  if  stunned  while  they 
watched  the  proceedings  in  front  of  them.  The 
full  realization  of  the  terrible  punishment  in- 
flicted on  the  German  regiment  had  not  dawned 
on  them  at  first. 

"Yes,"  agreed  Leon  soberly.    "Let's  move." 

They  arose  to  their  feet  and  looked  about  them. 


242    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

A  hundred  yards  away  were  their  own  lines  and 
toward  these  they  walked,  leaving  the  vivil  pic- 
ture of  destruction  and  war  behind  them.  As  they 
neared  the  trenches  they  were  hailed  by  their  com- 
panions who  expressed  great  surprise  at  seeing 
them  come  from  that  direction. 

"I  meant  to  look  at  that  boulder,"  said  Leon 
suddenly.  "I  wanted  to  see  what  damage  those 
bullets  did  to  the  other  side  of  it." 

"I  looked  at  it,"  said  Jacques.  "All  I  can  say 
is  that  it  was  a  lucky  thing  for  us  that  we  were 
not  in  the  way  of  that  gun." 

"Did  they  do  very  much  to  the  boulder?" 

"Not  such  a  great  deal.  They  were  only 
machine  gun  bullets." 

"They  would  be  enough  to  fix  us  though,  I 
guess,"  said  Leon  quietly. 

"If  you  don't  think  so,  just  look  behind  you 
and  see  what  they  did  to  the  Germans.  They 
ought  to  convince  you  soon." 

"I  don't  need  to  be  convinced,  thanks." 

They  arrived  at  the  trenches  and  received  a 
hearty  welcome.  Great  curiosity  was  expressed 
by  their  fellow  soldiers  as  to  how  they  happened 
to  be  where  they  were.  When  the  circumstances 
were  related  by  Jacques  there  was  many  a  laugh, 
and  many  exclamations  at  the  luck  of  the  two  boys 
in  happening  to  find  themselves  so  near  a  shelter. 

"I'm  getting  so  I  almost  count  on  being  lucky 


CONCLUSION  243 

now,"  said  Leon  some  time  later  when  he  and 
Jacques  were  talking  over  their  experiences. 

"I  almost  expect  it  myself,"  laughed  Jacques. 
"You  know  I  always  protested  that  it  was  wrong 
for  you  to  talk  about  our  luck  the  way  you  did, 
but  I  am  beginning  to  think  there  may  be  some- 
thing in  it  after  all." 

The  two  boys  were  lying  on  their  blankets  in 
their  tent.  They  had  been  ordered  to  withdraw 
from  the  trenches,  while  fresh  troops  took  their 
places  just  as  they  themselves  had  relieved  others 
a  short  time  before.  Both  young  soldiers  were 
in  need  of  rest  and  the  chance  to  enjoy  a  few 
hours  of  it  had  been  most  welcome  to  them.  At 
the  same  time  they  did  not  wish  to  leave  the 
trenches.  Something  about  the  battle  line,  its 
dangers  and  excitements  appealed  to  them 
strongly  and  as  soon  as  they  should  be  rested  they 
were  aware  that  they  would  be  eager  once  more 
to  take  their  places  at  the  front. 

They  were  now  preparing  to  turn  in  and  rest 
for  a  few  hours,  and  as  boys  often  do  before  go- 
ing to  sleep  they  were  talking  over  the  events  of 
the  day. 

"We've  certainly  given  it  to  the  Germans  hard 
the  last  two  days,"  said  Jacques  exultantly.  "A 
few  more  days  like  these  and  we'll  have  them  on 
the  run." 

"Don't   forget   this,   though,"    warned   Leon. 


244    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

"This  battle  line  is  at  least  two  hundred  miles 
long  and  things  may  have  turned  out  the  other 
way  'round  in  many  of  the  places  where  fighting 
is  going  on. ' ' 

" That's  very  true,"  agreed  Jacques,  "but  let 
me  tell  you  one  thing.  The  Germans  are  beaten 
right  now." 

"That's  a  pretty  strong  statement." 

"I  know  it  is,  and  I  guess  I've  made  it  to  you 
before  too.  Just  the  same  I  believe  that  last  week 
when  the  French  and  English  crumpled  up  Gen- 
eral von  Kluck's  army  and  drove  it  back  from 
Paris,  that  meant  final  victory  for  the  Allies.  It 
will  be  some  time  coming  but  it  will  get  here  all 
right." 

"Let's  hope  so  anyway.  Not  that  I  mind  fight- 
ing, for  I  don't  a  bit.  In  fact  I  rather  like  it, 
but  as  long  as  I  am  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies  I  naturally  want  to  see  them  win." 

"I  wonder  what  people  in  America  think  of  this 
war,"  said  Jacques. 

"I  too  would  like  to  know.  You  see  I  haven't 
heard  a  word  from  any  of  my  family  since  I  first 
enlisted,  'way  back  in  the  early  part  of  last 
month." 

"Where  do  you  think  your  brother  is?" 

' '  I  haven 't  the  least  idea.  You  know  I  left  him 
in  England  last  July,  and  I  haven't  heard  from 
him  since. ' ' 


CONCLUSION  245 

"You  wrote  him,  though?" 

' '  Oh,  yes, ' '  said  Leon.  * '  Of  course  I  wrote  him 
and  my  family  too,  just  as  soon  as  I  enlisted. 
I'm  not  sure  that  they  have  received  my  letters 
though,  and  I'm  very  sure  that  I  have  received 
none  from  them. ' ' 

"But  how  could  you!" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"Why,"  said  Jacques,  "they  probahly  have  no 
idea  where  you  are  even  if  they  do  know  you 
have  enlisted.  How  could  they  send  a  letter  to 
you?" 

"I  never  really  thought  of  that,"  laughed  Leon. 
"I'd  feel  better  if  I  was  sure  they  knew  where  I 
am.  They  wouldn't  worry  so  much." 

"No,"  laughed  Jacques,  "I  suppose  they 
wouldn't  worry  at  all.  If  they  only  knew  what 
you'd  been  doing  I  guess  they'd  think  you  were 
just  as  safe  as  you  would  be  in  your  own  bed. ' ' 

"Oh,  well,  it  can't  be  helped  now  anyway.  I 
wouldn't  be  a  bit  surprised  if  Earl  himself  had 
enlisted. ' ' 

"Earl  is  your  brother,  isn't  he?" 

"Yes,  and  he's  just  as  apt  to  turn  up  here  any 
time  as  not.  I  wouldn't  be  a  bit  surprised  to  see 
him  arrive  here  at — " 

Before  he  could  finish  the  sentence  the  flap  of 
the  tent  was  lifted  and  a  man's  arm  appeared, 
thrust  through  the  opening. 


246    WITH  JOFFEE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

Leon  caught  his  breath  and  stared  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  tent  with  wide  open  eyes.  Could  it 
be  possible  that  his  prediction  was  coming  true 
and  that  his  twin  brother  Earl  had  really  arrived? 
It  seemed  odd  anyway,  that  just  as  he  was  speak- 
ing of  such  a  thing  some  one  should  come  to  their 
tent.  His  suspicions  proved  to  be  unfounded, 
however. 

The  owner  of  the  arm  was  an  orderly  with  a 
letter  for  Jacques.  He  handed  it  to  the  young 
soldier  and  then  withdrew. 

' '  Whew ! ' '  exclaimed  Leon.  *  *  That  fellow  gave 
me  a  bad  start.  For  a  few  seconds  I  felt  sure 
that  Earl  had  arrived  here.  What's  your  letter, 
Jacques  ? ' ' 

Jacques  made  no  reply.  He  was  reading  his 
letter  and  was  so  deeply  interested  in  its  contents 
that  he  did  not  even  hear  his  friend's  question. 

"I  suppose  we're  ordered  away  somewhere," 
exclaimed  Leon.  "Oh,  well,  I  don't  care  if  we 
are,  as  long  as  we  aren't  sent  to  East  Prussia  or 
Poland  or  some  place  like  that.  It's  too  cold 
over  there  in  the  winter  time." 

Jacques  made  no  response,  but  merely  handed 
his  missive  to  Leon  without  any  comment.  The 
young  Frenchman's  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles, 
however. 

Leon  looked  at  the  letter.  "I  can't  read  that, 
Jacques,"  he  said.  "It's  all  in  French  and  I 


CONCLUSION  247 

could  only  make  out  half  of  what  it  says.    Trans- 
late it  into  English  and  read  it  out  loud  to  me." 

Jacques  laughed.  "Are  you  sure  you  want  to 
hear  it ! "  he  asked. 

"How  do  I  know?  I  don't  know  what  is  in 
it" 

"All  right,"  said  Jacques,  "here  goes.  It  is 
sent  from  Staff  Headquarters,  wherever  they  are. 
The  name  of  the  place  is  censored.  Here's  the 
rest  of  it, — 'Privates  Jacques  Dineau  and  Leon 
Platt,  attached  to  the  106th  regiment,  Fifteenth 
Army  Corps  of  the  army  of  the  Republic  of 
France,  have  this  day  been  awarded  the  medal  of 
honor  for  distinguished  service  and  for  bravery 
on  the  field  of  battle.'  It  is  signed  'Joffre.'  " 

"Don't  fool  me,"  warned  Leon.  "You'll  re- 
gret it  if  you  do." 

"I'm  not  fooling  you,"  exclaimed  Jacques.  "I 
read  you  exactly  what  was  in  the  letter.  What 
do  you  think  of  it?" 

"Is  it  really  true?" 

"Of  course  it  is." 

With  a  wild  whoop  of  joy  Leon  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  waved  his  hands  about  his  head.  At 
least  he  tried  to  do  these  things,  but  the  very 
cramped  quarters  which  he  and  Jacques  occupied 
prevented  him  from  fully  expressing  his  feelings. 
At  length  he  subsided  and  resumed  his  place  on 
the  floor. 


248    WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE 

" That's  the  greatest  piece  of  news  I  ever  had," 
he  panted. 

"It's  pretty  nice,  isn't  it?"  said  Jacques. 

"Pretty  nice!"  exclaimed  Leon.  "Pretty* 
nice!  Well,  I  should  say  so.  You  know,"  he 
added.  "I'd  like  to  quit  the  army  right  now 
and  just  pin  that  medal  on  my  chest  and  walk 
around  and  let  people  envy  me  my  good  luck." 

* '  But  we  won't  quit  the  army, ' '  said  Jacques. 

"No,  I  guess  not,  but  I'd  like  to  on  that  ac- 
count. ' ' 

"You're  not  serious,  are  you?" 

"No,  of  course  I'm  not.  I  wouldn't  stop  now 
if  I  had  a  chance. ' ' 

"That's  the  way  to  talk,  Leon!"  exclaimed 
Jacques,  heartily.  "For  a  moment  I  thought  you 
were  serious." 

"I  should  say  not.  I  was  only  joking  when  I 
said  I  wanted  to.  There  are  two  things  I  do 
want,  though." 

"What  are  they?" 

"One  thing  is  sleep." 

"I  want  some  of  that  myself.  What  is  the 
other?" 

"The  other  is  to  get  back  in  the  trenches  as 
soon  as  possible." 

"We'll  be  there  again  to-morrow,  I  hope. 
Let's  get  some  sleep  now  anyway." 

The  two  young  soldiers  stretched  themselves 


CONCLUSION  249 

on  their  blankets  and  made  ready  to  enjoy  a  well 
deserved  rest. 

" Good-night,  Leon,"  said  Jacques. 

" Good-night,"  responded  Leon. 

In  a  remarkably  short  time  the  only  sound  to 
be  heard  within  the  tent  was  the  regular  breath- 
ing of  two,  tired,  but  proud  young  soldiers  of  the 
army  of  France. 


THE  END 


THE  BIG  WAR  SERIES 


CLOTH 


By 
ROSS  KAY 

For  Boys  from,  12  to  16 
12  MO. 


ILLUSTRATED 


'HE  action  of  these 
thrilling    stories 
takes  place  against 
the  grim  background  of  the- 
huge  European  War. 

This  series  does  not  con- 
tain lengthy  studies  of  cam- 
paigns which  would  prove 
tiresome  to  the  younger  gen- 
eration, but  is  packed  with 
iswif  tly  moving  events.  Authentic,  instructive, 
and  exciting,  these  stories  of  boys'  adventures 
in  the  Great  War  are  among  our  best  and 
most  popular  series.  Read  one  and  you'll  read 
the  rest, 

1.  THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  SPY. 

2.  THE  Am  SCOUT. 

3.  DODGING  THE  NORTH  SEA  MINES. 

4.  WITH  JOFFRE  ON  THE  BATTLE  LINE. 

5.  FIGHTING  IN  FRANCE. 

6.  BATTLING  ON  THE  SOMME. 


Publishers 
BARSE  &  CQ. 


BTcw  York.  N.  T. 


Newark,  N.  J. 


THE  BOY  SCOUT  LIFE  SERIES 

Published  with  the  approval  fef 
The  Boy  Scouts  of  America 

In  the  boys'  world  of  story 
books,  none  better  than  those 
about  boy  scouts  arrest  and  grip 
attention.  In  a  most  alluring  way, 
the  stories  in  the  BOY  SCOUT 
LIFE  SERIES  tell  of  the  glorious 
good  times  and  wonderful  adven- 
tures of  boy  scouts. 

All  the  books  were  written  by 
authors  possessed  of  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  this  greatest  of  all 
movements  organized  for  the  wel- 
fare of  boys,  and  are  published 
with  the  approval  of  the  National 
Headquarters  of  the  Boy  Scouts 
of  America. 

The  Chief  Scout  Librarian,  Mr. 
F.  K.  Mathiews,  writes  concerning 

them:  "It  is  a  bully  bunch  of  books.  I  hope  you  will  sell 
100,000  copies  of  each  one,  for  these  stories  are  the  sort  that 
will  help  instead  of  hurt  our  movement." 

THE  BOY  SCOUT  FIRE  FIGHTERS— CRUMP 

THE  BOY  SCOUTS  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE  TROOP— 

McCLANE 

THE  BOY  SCOUT  TRAIL  BLAZERS— CHELEY 
THE  BOY  SCOUT  TREASURE  HUNTERS— LERRIGO 
BOY  SCOUTS  AFLOAT— WALDEN 
BOY  SCOUTS  COURAGEOUS— MATHIEWS 
BOY  SCOUTS  TO  THE  RESCUE— LERRIGO 
BOY  SCOUTS  ON  THE  TRAIL— GARTH 
THE  BOY  SCOUTS  IN  AFRICA— CORCORAN 
THE  BOY  SCOUTS  OF  ROUND  TABLE  PATROL— 

LERRIGO 


Publishers 
BARSE  &  CO. 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


Newark,  N.  J. 


The  Camp  Fire  Boys  Series 

By  OLIVER  LEE  CLIFTON 

For  Boys  from  8  to  14 

A  group  of  resourceful  boys  living  in  a 
small  town  form  a  camping  and  hiking 
club,  which  brings  them  all  sorts  of  out- 
door adventures.  In  the  first  story,  "At 
Log  Cabin  Bend,'*  they  solve  a  series  of 
mysteries  but  not  until  after  some  lively 
thrills  which  will  cause  other  boys  to  sit 
on  the  edge  of  their  chairs.  The  next 
story  telling  of  their  search  for  a  lost 
army  aviator  in  "Muskrat  Swamp"  is  just  as  lively.  The 
boys  are  all  likable  and  manly — just  the  sort  of  fellows 
that  every  other  wide-awake  boy  would  be  glad  to  go 
hiking  with. 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  BOYS  AT  LOG  CABIN  BEND 
THE  CAMP  FIRE  BOYS  IN  MUSKRAT  SWAMP 
THE  CAMP  FIRE  BOYS  AT  SILVER  FOX  FARM 

THE  CAMP  FIRE  BOYS'  CANOE  CRUISE. 
THE  CAMP  FIRE  BOYS'  TRACKING  SQUAD 


PUBLISHERS 

BARSE    &    CO. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


THE   MERRY    MEN    OF 
ROBIN  HOOD  PATROL 

By 
CHARLES  H.  LERRIGO 

For  boys  from  1O  to  16. 
NET  $1.50 

C7Q  THEN  Robin  Hood  Patrol 
^^  started  "out  west"  in  search 
of  the  missing  "Lord  Pop"  it 
numbered  only  four  scouts,  a 
Patrol  Leader,  and  Peppermint. 
Mint  was  the  dog.  He  was  only 
vest-pocket  size,  but  Wow!  what 
a  noise  he  could  raise  as  a  watch- 
dog! Bill  Frisk,  who  came  from 
"out  where  the  west  begins,"  practically  gave  the  Patrol 
the  Royal  8,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  best  touring 
car  ever  made.  The  scouts  go  thru  fire  and  water,  not 
to  mention  a  volcano,  before  they  finally  locate  the 
Gold  Mine  of  Robin  Hood  Patrol.  And  if  they  had 
not  been  guided  by  Da  Na  Yazzi,  the  Navajo,  and  if 
Bill  Frisk  had  not  been  an  ex-sheriff  of  Nye  County 
who  knew  when  to  take  up  a  gun  and  when  to  leave 
it  alone,  perhaps  the  Duke  gang — you  had  better  read 
the  story.  

PUBLISHERS 

BARSE    &    CO. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


k~  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

A     000  650  266     0 


